From the Maplewood City Council packet for March 22, 2010, Agenda Item M-1:
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MARCH 22, 2010
The City of Maplewood recently became aware that Diana Longrie, in her private practice as an attorney and during her tenure as mayor of the City, represented Patricia Gearin and Wipers Recycling LLC at the same time that Ms. Gearin, Wipers Recycling LLC and Gearin LLC were engaged in litigation against the City and various City officials. Ms. Longrie participated in meetings of the City Council that were closed for attorney-client privileged discussions of litigation strategy relating to the lawsuits brought by Ms. Gearin and her companies. Ms. Longrie did not recuse herself from those discussions, nor did she disclose to the City that she represented Ms. Gearin and Wipers.
More specifically, the City is aware of the following facts in the public record:
• Diana Longrie, a licensed attorney in the state of Minnesota, was elected to office in 2005 and sworn in as Mayor in January 2006. She became a paid public official of the City of Maplewood at that time. Her term of office ended on January 4, 2010.
• A company called Wipers Recycling, L.L.C., moved into the City of Maplewood in the summer of 2007. The company is owned and operated by Patricia Gearin.
• Ms. Longrie represented Ms. Gearin and Wipers Recycling LLC in a civil matter, Recovery Systems Company, Inc. v. Patricia Gearin, Wipers Recycling LLC., 27-CV-06- 14894, Hennepin County, Fourth Judicial District. Court records indicate that Ms. Longrie represented Ms. Gearin and Wipers Recycling LLC from May 2007 until the conclusion of the litigation in November 2007.
• In August 2008, Ms. Gearin, Wipers Recycling LLC, and Gearin LLC brought a federal civil lawsuit against the City and City officials disputing the City’s building and fire code decisions with respect to her building, among other issues. Patricia M. Gearin, et al. v. City of Maplewood, Minnesota, et al., 08-5019 (PJS/AJB). That case is still pending.
• In February 2009, Ms. Gearin, Wipers Recycling LLC, and Gearin LLC brought a state civil lawsuit against the City and City officials disputing the City’s building and fire code decisions with respect to her building, among other issues. Gearin, LLC, et al. v. Vecoplan, LLC, et al., 62-CV-09-1924, Ramsey County, Second Judicial District. That case is still pending.
• In September 2009, Ms. Gearin, Wipers Recycling LLC, and Gearin LLC appealed the decision by the City and its building official that Ms. Gearin changed the use of her building and needed a new certificate of occupancy. They appealed this decision to the state board of appeals of the Department of Labor & Industry. In September 2009, the board upheld the decisions of the City and its building official. Ms. Gearin, Wipers Recycling LLC, and Gearin LLC appealed that decision. That case is still pending before the Office of Administrative Hearings.
• After Ms. Gearin, Wipers Recycling LLC, and Gearin LLC brought a federal lawsuit in August 2008, the City tendered defense of the claims to its insurance provider, the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT), which accepted the claim. The LMCIT contracted with the firm Greene Espel P.L.L.P. to provide the actual legal defense services and Robin Wolpert was assigned as the principal attorney to the file.
• As part of the process of defending the City, Ms. Wolpert met periodically with the City Council in closed sessions to hold attorney-client privileged communications with the Council regarding litigation strategy. During these meetings, the City Council sought legal advice, and Ms. Wolpert provided legal advice, regarding the pending lawsuits. The closed sessions regarding the pending lawsuits that Ms. Longrie participated in included sessions on September 8, 2008; February 23, 2009; July 6, 2009; and September 14, 2009.
• After Ms. Longrie’s term ended, the City learned that she represented Ms. Gearin’s company Wipers Recycling LLC, in another civil lawsuit from April 2009 to the present, Bro-Tex, Inc. v. Wipers Recycling, LLC., 62-CV-09-6032, Ramsey County, Second Judicial District. Court documents indicate that Ms. Longrie appealed the conciliation court decision on behalf of Wipers in May 2009 and remains counsel of record.
• Ms. Longrie represented Ms. Gearin and Wipers Recycling LLC while she was an elected and paid public official and while her client was also suing the City in multiple forums (state, federal, and administrative). Specifically, from the spring of 2009 until the end of her term, Ms. Longrie simultaneously was an attorney for Wipers Recycling LLC and Ms. Gearin and a participant as mayor in closed sessions regarding the suits of Wipers Recycling LLC and Ms. Gearin against the City. Ms. Longrie did not disclose her representation of Ms. Gearin and Wipers Recycling LLC to the City. The City never consented to Ms. Longrie’s actions. Ms. Longrie attended attorney client privileged meetings to discuss litigation strategy related to the pending lawsuits against the City.
Members of the City Council, based on the information contained in this report, I will be reporting these facts to the appropriate state agencies for further investigation.
[Reformatted from the packet PDF. Any formatting errors are mine. Stephan]
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