Dover mayors in legal tug-of-war in cases over employees' firing

Now-suspended Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen sits in the courtroom of Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos for his arraignment on 15 counts related to theft in office and other charges on March  30.
Now-suspended Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen sits in the courtroom of Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos for his arraignment on 15 counts related to theft in office and other charges on March 30.

DOVER — The city's interim mayor and its suspended mayor have differing opinions about lawsuits brought by the latter over his dismissal of three city employees last year.

More: Richard Homrighausen suspended as mayor of Dover, says he's not guilty

Richard Homrighausen, who is suspended from the office of mayor until a criminal case against him is resolved, has sued the city, its law director and the three employees he fired on Dec. 21. In two lawsuits and two appeals filed in Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court, he is seeking to stop the city from employing those three people who were reinstated in March by City Council.

in one of his first actions after being appointed interim mayor on May 13, Shane Gunnoe attempted to dismiss the suspended mayor’s lawsuits and appeals against the city.

More: Dover City Council President Shane Gunnoe chosen as interim mayor

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In notices filed with the court on May 17, Law Director Douglas O'Meara wrote that Gunnoe dismissed the complaints filed by Homrighausen, who was suspended by a panel of three retired judges on May 4.

"Richard P. Homrighausen filed this action in his capacity as mayor and appointing authority of the City of Dover," O'Meara wrote. "Mr. Homrighausen has since been suspended from office and no longer serves as the mayor or appointing authority for the City of Dover."

In filings received by Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court on Thursday, Homrighausen asked Judge Michael Ernest to strike or dismiss the notices of dismissal filed by Gunnoe for lack of standing.

His memorandum in support of his request says that only the plaintiff may dismiss his own complaint.

"The Interim Mayor is not the Plaintiff/Appellant in this action, nor has he ever been the Appellant or even a party to this action," Homrighausen's filing said. "He is therefore without standing to file anything in this matter, let alone a voluntary dismissal, which ... can only be filed by a plaintiff regarding the claims asserted by that plaintiff.

"The Mayor has not been convicted of any crime and will be reinstated in the event a not guilty verdict is reached in the upcoming criminal trial in September 2022. A case or  controversy still exists in this matter," Homrighausen's memorandum said.

Homrighausen's civil suits and appeals challenge decisions by the State Personnel Board of Review and City Council that resulted in the three employees' reinstatement. Their return to City Hall was the result of a settlement reached between City Council and the state board, which ruled that administrative assistant Eva Newsome, Human Resources/Safety Director Gerald Mroczkowski and Service Director David Douglas were wrongly fired by Homrighausen in violation of state whistle blower statutes.

According to the agreement, their firings were retaliation for truthfully informing council, the law director, the Ohio Ethics Commission and the state auditor's Special Investigations Unit about misconduct by the mayor.

More: Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen pleads not guilty to 15 criminal charges

An investigation by the state auditor's office led to Homrighausen's indictment on charges of theft in office; having an unlawful interest in a public contract; six counts of filing incomplete, false, and fraudulent tax returns; four counts of soliciting improper compensation; two counts of dereliction of duty; and representation by a public official or employee. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.

On Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Dover interim mayor and suspended mayor take opposite views on lawsuit