The attorney representing fired former Sparks Fire Chief Mark Lawson said yesterday’s Sparks City Council vote against Lawson’s $600,000 settlement offer with the city was foolish.
Lawson was fired by former Sparks City Manager Neil Krutz, who said he asked for Lawson’s resignation after he learned Lawson faced criminal charges for steroid distribution. Lawson said he was fired after just days on the job. Lawson sued the city over the matter and has been trying to get a settlement with the city.
“We are disappointed the City of Sparks and Mr. Krutz have foolishly refused, yet again, to negotiate a reasonable resolution to the pending litigation,” Lawson’s attorney Jason Guinasso told This Is Reno.
“Each time the City rejects our client’s offer to reach a reasonable settlement, they drive the costs of litigation up at great expense to the City of Sparks taxpayers,” he said. “These legal expenses could have been avoided if the City had not breached the contract it had with Mr. Lawson and if Mr. Krutz and the City had not committed egregious defamatory acts that harmed and continue to harm Mr. Lawson’s reputation and ability to find gainful employment.”
“He’s got our opinion, and we’ve got ours,” Mayor Ed Lawson said in response to Guinasso.
The Sparks Council in June voted to appeal a district court ruling in the matter to the state supreme court. In the months following Lawson’s termination, Krutz was also fired. Three separate law firms have been hired to represent the city in the fallout—two for the Lawson case and a third for matters with Krutz.
Guinasso said the city’s “unlawful behavior and unwise decisions” led to the lawsuit. Lawson partially prevailed in court against the city, and the city then appealed the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court. A court-ordered mediation is scheduled for the end of the month.
The council yesterday unanimously voted against Guinasso’s $600,000 settlement offer, which is up from $441,000 in January of last year. No council members spoke about the issue.
Guinasso said litigation could extend, after the mediation, for the next few years, costing “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
