Jan. 22--Three former Fairfield Community Fire Company officers have filed suit against the company and its board saying the department made false statements and unfairly removed them from office.
Former EMS Captain Roy Kent, Chief Adam Brown and President A.J. Aldrich filed suit in Adams County court Dec. 20, 2011 seeking damages on counts of defamation of character and publicly placing a person in a false light.
The fire company, in turn, filed its preliminary objections Tuesday.
According to the suit, the fire company's board voted to remove Kent, Brown and Aldrich from office July 6 of last year after sending a seven-page letter and other communications to the company's members, outlining the alleged wrongdoings of the three.
The allegations started when Kent, Brown and Aldrich, who made up the fire company's employment committee, chose to remove the position of EMS supervisor April Bowmaster, according to the suit.
The fire board told company members through correspondence that the three officers did not handle the disciplinary action against Bowmaster properly, violating both internal guidelines and state and federal employment law.
But the trio state in the suit that Bowmaster went to the board to complain about her position being removed, and the board, in turn, sought to remove the three from office for political and personal reasons.
The former officers accuse the board of acting with malice and with the
intention of harming them.
In addition to discussing Bowmaster's position, the suit states the letter sent to members by the board lists a number of allegations against the three, all of which they denied.
Among the allegations, the board claimed Brown and Aldrich filed tax forms with "inaccurate and questionable entries," which include a list expenses that board members never approved of, though the form indicated that they had. It included expenses like $193,000 for building improvements, $8,300 for travel expenses and over $600,000 in a non-interest bearing account.
Brown and Aldrich said in their suit these forms were later independently verified to be correct.
The board also claimed Kent has a conflict of interest in eliminating Bowmaster's position because he was set to become the senior-most paramedic, which he denied, saying another member was in line for the promotion.
According to the suit, the board also stated Kent committed fire company staff to Gettysburg's Bike Week celebration without authorization. He denied this in the suit, and stated personnel were present to avoid unnecessary 911 calls.
The board also claimed Brown violated child-labor laws with junior firefighters, that Brown and Kent violated their suspensions from office, and that they had sabotaged equipment, all of which they denied.
According to the suit, the allegations have caused a great deal of harm to Kent, Brown and Aldrich's reputations and good names. Kent had been questioned by his superiors at work, Brown questioned by customers at his small business, and Aldrich withdrew consideration of running for local elected office, according to the suit.
From the fire company and several board members individually, the three are seeking an amount in excess of $50,000 for harm caused, $100,000 in punitive damages, and costs and attorney's fees related to the case.
In the fire company's preliminary objections, the company told the court the allegations should not be brought against individual board members, as they were acting in their capacity as a board, not individuals.
They objected to the recovery of attorney fees, and also objected to the seeking of punitive damages, which they said can only be awarded for conduct that is outrageous conduct with evil motives or reckless indifference.
The officers have 20 days to respond, according to the suit.
The fire company's attorney, Brooks R. Foland of Thomas, Thomas & Hafer in Harrisburg, could not be reached for comment about the allegations made against the fire company's board. Several board members also did not return calls for comment.
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Copyright 2012 - The Evening Sun, Hanover, Pa.
