Was Domurad’s Resignation Letter On File In Derby For Years?

A letter of resignation from ex-finance director Henry Domurad, Jr. may have been on file even before Domuard’s official hiring at a Board of Aldermen meeting in 2008, according to a new document filed in Domurad’s lawsuit against Mayor Anthony Staffieri.

Domurad is suing Staffieri for unlawful termination.

A hearing connected to the lawsuit is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday (July 3) in Superior Court in Milford.

The purpose of the hearing is to determine whether Domurad can be reinstated as finance director while his lawsuit works its way through the system.

The Lawsuit

Domurad claims the mayor fired him without cause in April. 

Staffieri claims Domurad resigned. The mayor’s office provided the Valley Indy in April with an undated letter of resignation signed by Domurad. 

In an interview with the Valley Indy in April, Staffieri said he watched Domurad sign the letter in front of him.

Domurad, however, claims the letter is a fraud. 

The Letter

In a legal brief filed Monday, John Gesmonde, Domurad’s lawyer, states that he expects Staffieri to deny telling newspapers he witnessed Domurad sign the letter earlier this year. 

Gesmonde also expects Staffieri to say that Domurad’s resignation letter was created and put on file as a condition Staffieri set before Domurad’s hiring was approved by the Derby Board of Aldermen.

Gesmonde believes Staffieri will now claim that the undated letter of resignation was actually signed by Domurad prior, and as a condition precedent, to the Mayor recommending to the Board of Aldermen for its approval,” Gesmonde wrote.

Gesmonde’s legal brief does not detail why he expects Staffieri to say these things.

Domurad was a prominent Democrat when Staffieri, a Republican, tapped him for finance director in 2008.

Gesmonde’s legal brief also does not comment as to whether Domurad acknowledges giving Staffieri an undated resignation letter prior to his Oct. 23, 2008 appointment by the Board of Aldermen.

But Gesmonde does argue that if the scenario happened as described, the resignation is still not valid, because courts have ruled a person can’t resign from a job before he or she has the job.

Derby’s Court Filing

Staffieri’s lawyer, corporation counsel Joseph Coppola, also filed a legal brief in the case Monday afternoon.

Coppola’s brief makes no mention of the origin of the resignation letter or when, precisely, it was accepted by the mayor. 

Coppola’s brief, however, does take issue with Gesmonde’s assertion that letters of resignation must be filed in the Derby Town Clerk’s Office. That’s incorrect, Coppola states.

In addition, Coppola states that Domurad was not a municipal officer,” but was simply an employee of the town.

Finally, Coppola states that Domurad never had the minimum qualifications outlined in the Derby Charter to become the city’s finance director.

Coppola makes the point to argue that Domurad’s employment contract with the city was invalid from the start.

Gesmonde notes that the original copy of Domurad’s employment contract with the city signed in 2008 has been lost, apparently, inside Derby City Hall.

The Hearing

This is the third time a show cause” hearing has been scheduled in Domurad’s lawsuit. 

The first hearing was not held because the lawyers conferred for hours outside Superior Court in Milford and created an out-of-court settlement that would have paid Domurad $53,000.

However, the Derby Board of Aldermen voted twice to reject that settlement.

The lawyers could very well huddle again Tuesday and come up with another settlement offer.

If the hearing goes forward, witnesses to be called include Staffieri, Domurad, Phil Robertson, the mayor’s administrative aide, Ron Sill, the president of the Board of Aldermen, and Town Clerk Laura Wabno.

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