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| This Article as been pre-tagged to save time at my next deposition. |
I was one of several people recently invited to "chat" with Legal Counsel for the town's liability insurance carrier to discuss the matter of Johnson vs. Town of Sandwich School Committee, Sherry Marshall, Nancy Crossman, Marie Kangas, and Jessica Linehan (aka C.A. No. BACV2010-00663). Well, that's if a subpoena can be considered an invitation!
While all involved were very polite and professional, the adventure lasted for 6 hours nonetheless. Our walk down Memory Lane covered a wide range of history including the contracts and evaluations of both Dr. Johnson, and her predecessor, Dr. Young.
"Who acts like an un-medicated third-grader?" Who are the Four Witches of the Apocalypse? " "Who are the Buffoons?" What is the Coven you refer to?" (I think I saw the Court Reporter smile at that one!).
Yup, we got to talk about NotThePTA. Apparently my post-school committee personal opinions as a mere mortal Taxpayer and Parent are somehow relevant to whether or not a contract was properly extended or whether or not a subsequent School Committee took the proper steps to"unextend" it.
Who knew?
Rather than just repeat prior observations, I would point out the following links to previous comments are even more relevant now that the legal meters have been running at high speed for a few more months:
- Who's watching The Lawyers?
- Judgement Reversed
- OK, So Now What ?
- The longer the fiddling goes on, the bigger the fire is getting!
- One more Time ... (Discussion of OML, 21 day rule and the South Hadley Case)
In my humble, non-lawyerly, opinion, the Johnson case seems to have gone way off the tracks with the legal expense meter spinning wildly out of control. The State Appeals Court has already made it clear the DA can not invalidate a contract and that the Committee did not file with the court to get a Judge's ruling -- as suggested by many. Insurance Counsel seems to be trying to claim there never was a contract -- but with signed documents and sworn testimony of the majority of the School Committee, its unlikely that will go anywhere -- except to further inflate legal bills.
Everybody could avoid potential criticism and just kick the can a little further down the road again and do nothing except watch the legal fees grow and, of course, wait for a jury to fix the problem for them. ("We didn't vote to pay a Gazillion Dollars -- the damn jury made us do it!")
Hopefully, those involved will step up, and appropriately resolve the situation so the local government can go back to spending time (and tax dollars!) building for the future -- instead of correcting the past.
Or ...
Or ...
Everybody could avoid potential criticism and just kick the can a little further down the road again and do nothing except watch the legal fees grow and, of course, wait for a jury to fix the problem for them. ("We didn't vote to pay a Gazillion Dollars -- the damn jury made us do it!")
21 comments:
This is exactly what I’d expect!
Nobody in town “owns” this project and is responsible for managing its outcome. And, as you have suggested here, no one will take any responsibility at all for it because they fear “looking bad” and being held responsible for the ultimate outcome.
So, unsupervised attorneys subpoena folks like you (and many others) and ask questions about things you wrote on a blog page months and years after having left elected office.
Assuming the lawyer and stenographer were paid $150 and $75 per hour respectively (and that’s probably low) us taxpayers forked over $1350.00 just for your blog discussion with counsel.
Why can’t we afford a Public Safety Boiling? Because we spend $1350 or more a day for lawyers to ask Bob questions about his web page. God help us all!
I bet the lawyer is $300 -- and since there were probably two of them, the cost would be north of $4,000 --- and that's before you count travel time from the Big City !
AND before you count time to make and review the transcript. Assuming 7 members of the Committee, this exercise may have cost $40,000 -- about the same as we pay a starting teacher.
Bob? Didn't you bring a nice big bowl of cherries for the group? Just sayin....some of us will NEVER forget the poison offered up by the four ladies?
Had I known it was going to take 6 hours, I would have brought something to go with all those sour grapes!
CAPS QUEEN ..... COME OUT, COME OUT! YOU MUST BE OUT THERE!
The Truth Maker would hope that when the jury is called, that we would have an opportunity to sit on the panel that decides the monetary settlement that will be forthcoming to some one that really cared about the children of Sandwich.
As a result of the conflictions cast by those whom generated all of this trouble for our town and Dr. Johnson, we all will get to pay the bill, for those that perpertrated this travesdy upon a caring educator, who has been blackballed from ever teaching again.
Do you mean some kid's cellphone is not your biggest topic of discussion this week -- that seems to be all anybody else is writing about lately!
Typical public/media reaction ... focus on the mundane and easily understood and ignore the important issues .... until they bite you in the ass!
Did anyone catch the beautiful mug (sarcasm) of MEJ on election night in Chicago, proudly waving the American flag behind the newly elected supreme leader? Couldn’t help but think, “Is she smiling so big because she helped reelect Obama or screwed the children and taxpayers of Sandwich?” I guess no matter how you look at it she’s given us the preverbal middle finger. Thanks MEJ, you’re the best (also sarcasm). Will she every just go away?....I’m guessing no.
To my friend the truth maker, I say... regardless of the poison poured upon you and even myself during the insurrection and burning at the stake...MEJ may never have to worry about working again thanks to the evil done to her. We can hope she is successful in her case because she was wronged. I can hear the jeers and catcalls starting already... it won't take long before the CAPS LOCK QUEEN if spitting cherry stones at all of us once again. Justice is not nearly as bitter as sweet revenge.
I hope Bob won't allow this space to turn into a pissing contest -- But ...
12:41, You are an ass.
Yeah, I'm sure she was smiling because her 30+ year career was incinerated by a group of morons who were far more interested in their own special interests than in the welfare of the Town or School District!
Guess what -- Johnson is gone and the Community School and the Pool are still on the verge of bankruptcy. The teachers contract is no better than it was before, and even more kids are leaving the District.
Oh, and the Court will probably force the Town to write her a Big Check because the jerks wouldn't listen.
Now who do we blame?
The idiots were warned, but they went charging ahead anyway -- and it looks like we are all about to pay the price.
I am so very sure that the person who posted 12:41 has never been within 100 feet of any sitting President. I am also sure 12:41 has never been invited by the staff of the White House to sit behind the President of the United States on election night. I am also sure 12:41 does not know the President of the United States.
12:41 sounds bitter, jealous and deranged – it’s likely that the Secret Service would not let 12:41 within 100 feet of any sitting President. Personally, I am a little scared that 12:41 gets within 100 feet of our schools.
Why anyone would care that the former superintendent knows the President is beyond me. And, why someone would resent that the former superintendent was invited to Chicago on election night is simply bizarre.
Unfortunately, I think you got it right when u said everybody is going to wait to blame a jury for the pay-out. It's too bad that nobody has the balls to step in and resolve this mess now before it gets even more expensive.
Nobody has any incentive to keep costs down --- the lawyer keeps charging the insurance company, the insurance company keeps jacking up the Town's premiums, and the Town keeps jacking up our taxes --- or cutting our services -- in order to fix the mistakes of a small group of vindictive bullies.
That seems fair.
Unless you're a taxpayer.
Let’s b fair – the selectmen share the blame now for this mess.
U and I both know they could demand a resolution.
This mess is their mess too. Shame on them!
Let's just hope that some sort of decision is made right before the election as both woman who helped cause this disaster are planning on running again. May the town do exactly what they did when Sherry Marshall ran - help them go down in a big defeat!
The Truth Maker read the same words that these folks will be running again to finish what they started. Now one could take that to mean several things, the least of which was the process they engaged to get Dr. Johnson Removed from our school district.
Any one whom put the town through what they did and still expect to be relected will get a rude awakening as did the previous chair.
Should Dr. Johnson cases be heard prior to elections , the evidence will show what it will be costing our town in dollars and then the judgement day will be even harder to bear/ Students leaving, parents not trusting how their children will be educated, will go a long way towards the decision process.
Please tell me on what platform these two will run on. We want to finish the good things we have done?? That has more then one meaning in there case.
They really have a nerve to run again. We all have to pay the price for their self-serving actions.
Why is everyone say this suit is being paid by us taxpayers. Its my understanding the ins company is paying. I could be wrong.
The Truth Maker would respond to 501 Let us start with who payes for the coverage to start with. We the taxpayers pay the actual bills for all insurance the town purchases.
One could say, depended upon how the coverage is written up depends upon what the coverage payes and what the coverage will not pay.
If is shown that those that are covered did so out of malice which may end up resulting that the insurance company denies the claim. Then we take the money from some other account to pay the bills as a result of the malice. Then we all get to pay a portion of the bill through our tax dollars again.
Perhaps brother Bob would be so kind as to explain it from what the situation presently may be,
The main thing to understand is also is that the money or the bill for the coverage we taxpayers pay in part of our taxes each year, goes up when ever a claim is filed and the insurance company payes out a claim.
Who do you think is paying the lawers on both sides, should the defendant prevale in court. Some of our tax dollars will diverted to pay the bill.
No matter what, we all still get to pay in less educational opportunities, less capitol investments and a black eye against the town for allowing this to happen in the first place
Sandwich lawyers Att. Davis and Schools attorneys Emerson and SEA attorney have a long history of running up their bills deliberately.
Put all negotiations on SCAT and see how much b.s. ya cut thru.
The BOS and school committee have never had the stones to stop this practice.
The chair of the BOS should stop the raiding of our tax dollars.
Settle the suit and stop the padding of the attorney bank accounts.
Bob you must get the enterprise today.
Pool is down and they need a $4500 dollar fix, which Kangus thinks should come out of the school budget
Truth Maker - I think that someone needs to keep a collection of Kangas one liners and pull them out as campain slogans!
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