Former Blunt deputy fires lawyers in long-running saga
Eckersley
JEFFERSON CITY — Is a fired employee’s defamation and wrongful termination suit against former Gov. Matt Blunt settled or not?
The former employee, Scott Eckersley, sent word to the state attorney general’s office today that he had fired his attorneys, Steve Garner and Jeff Bauer of Springfield.
Eckersley, a former deputy counsel to Blunt, said in an interview today that he is consulting with several new attorneys and is considering filing a motion to set aside the settlement signed in May.
“There are terms of the settlement that are unsatisfied and I’ve lost confidence in these attorneys being able to fulfill these terms,” Eckersley said.
Garner and Bauer could not immediately be reached for comment.
Eckersley claimed that he was fired by Blunt in 2007 for complaining about possible violations of the Sunshine Law by the ex-governor. Blunt’s administration said Eckersley’s work performance was to blame.
It looked like the dispute was settled in May when all parties signed a “release of all claims” that provided Eckersley with $500,000 from the state’s legal expense fund. But this month, reports surfaced that Eckersley also wanted a letter from Gov. Jay Nixon clearing Eckersley of poor performance during his time with the state.
One of Nixon’s deputies gave Eckersley a letter for his personnel file last week. The governor’s office would not reveal its contents.
Eckersley said today that he received an “expungement letter,” removing certain information from his personnel file, but he still wants an “apology letter.” He said the apology letter, while not part of the formal settlement, was discussed in e-mails between his attorneys and the state.
“The most important thing about this lawsuit for me was clearing my name,” Eckersley said.
Blunt’s lawyer, Jerry Hunter of St. Louis, said today that Blunt considers the case over.
“That settlement agreement does not require that any letter be provided to Mr. Eckersley,” Hunter said. “We plan to stand by that agreement. We believe it’s binding. We don’t know anything about any other promise by any other official in the state to give Mr. Eckersley a letter.”
I’m so tired of Eckersley. At this point, he is wasting tax payer money. Shut up. You got what you want.
I wish someone would fire me and give me 500 gs.
Eckersley is an apparent liar as evidenced by the statement, “The most important thing about this lawsuit for me was clearing my name.” If clearing his name was the point, he would have settled for the apology letter and letter alone. Instead, he took the 500gs.
Mr. Eckersley should get Blunt to give him the letter. Gov. Nixon wasn’t his employer. I felt sorry for Mr. Eckersley at first, but he is costing the taxpayers money now.
Am predicting Tony Messenger will receive a Pulitzer for his diligent reporting in uncovering this big, fat pile of nothing story.
http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/files/2008/12/cd-er-blunts-email-01.jpg
How ironic that the lawyer who raised a big stink about being fired is now turning around and firing his own lawyers. Wouldn’t it be delicious if they sued him for a nice chunk of his hush…I mean, settlement, money?
Whatever goodwill Eckersley may have built up to help his career is now gone. He’s now just a whiny doofus who will never hold any responsible job.
Wow, I wish I had the amount of time and money this guy Eckersley must have to carry a grudge this long. What is this guy doing for a job. What a waste of time and money. It’s settled, Scott. Move on. Oy vey!
Make em go away….damn.
Why is there no mention of the protest at Senator McCaskill’s office on Delmar this afternoon. The office staff freaked out at the anti-tax, anti-government protesters and called the cops claiming they were being threatened.
THis is a part of the Tea Party Movement which the Post and other national media have been studiously avoiding. Certainly this protest deserves at least the same coverage as a bunch of Kirkwood non-smokers raising $800.00.
Clear the guy’s name already! Finish this Nixon, Eckersley pretty much gave you the mansion you’re living in, the least you can do it clean up the image Blunt smeared. We’re all getting pretty tired of politicians not getting things done, this seems like a pretty quick fix, just do it!