March 13--STAMFORD -- A Superior Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit against a troubled Stamford fire department that four years ago fired a veteran firefighter who had filed complaints about safety violations and wage issues.
The firefighter, Donald Berg, was terminated in 2008 from the Long Ridge Fire Company, a volunteer-run department covering North Stamford with two stations and 10 professional firefighters, after supervisors accused him of being slow in responding to a medical emergency and leaving his fire district while on duty. Berg, who worked at Long Ridge for 27 years before his termination, sued the department and its then-chief, Robert Bennett, for allegedly calling Berg mentally unstable and dangerous in front of other firefighters and for breaching his union contract when his supervisors disciplined him.
Bennett, who led the department for nine years, died last April at age 63. In December 2008, Berg sued Bennett for slander, and his former department for breaching his union contract and failing to supervise and train Bennett and other supervisors. Berg also named Stamford as a defendant, claiming Long Ridge acts as a city agency.
State Superior Court Judge Kevin Gene Dubay dismissed the lawsuit Feb. 23 in Waterbury, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction because of the special doctrine forcing litigants to exhaust all administrative remedies before filing a lawsuit.
Specifically, Berg could have filed a complaint with the state Board of Labor Relations accusing the department of breaching his contract before he asked the courts to intervene, Dubay wrote in his decision.
Berg's lawyer, Beverly Rogers, of Ridgefield, declined comment about the ruling. According to court records, Rogers plans to appeal.
Stamford city attorneys also declined to comment, as did Stephen Brown, a lawyer with Wilson Elser Moskowtiz Edelman & Dicker in Stamford, who represents Bennett's estate and the Long Ridge Fire Company.
Stamford attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case in September 2011, subsequently arguing that Berg failed to exhaust administrative remedies. Dubay agreed with the city's claim.
According to court documents, Berg claimed the department retaliated against him for making several whistleblower complaints. In 2003, Berg complained to the state Department of Labor that the department failed to enforce the contract when it didn't fund and pay retroactive salary increases, an issue over which the paid firefighters' union at Long Ridge filed its own lawsuit last year.
In 2006, Berg filed a complaint with safety officials at the Labor Department that resulted in fines at the fire company. Two years later, he filed a retaliation complaint after harassment by fellow firefighters, according to court documents.
In his lawsuit against Bennett and the department, Berg accused his supervisors of unfair discipline, such as a demotion from lieutenant to firefighter in early 2008. Berg filed another complaint with state labor officials, this time against his union, the Long Ridge Paid Driver's Association, for failing to represent him during the disciplinary proceedings.
The Long Ridge Fire Company is a private, not-for-profit organization that operates independently of the city, but is funded through taxes and donations. It employs 10 firefighters, and augments its response with volunteers.
The fire company is among five volunteer-run departments that co-exist with the Stamford Fire & Rescue Department, the professional, city-run agency covering downtown and surrounding urban neighborhoods with nearly 270 firefighters.
Two of the volunteer departments rely on Stamford Fire & Rescue engine companies operating from their firehouses to cover their districts. Long Ridge, in contrast, sued the city in 1998 to block the transfer of 16 Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighters to one of its stations. At the time, the department could not staff the station around the clock.
Long Ridge is part of a proposed consolidation plan involving the volunteer fire departments aimed at improving fire protection in the Long Ridge, Belltown and Turn of River fire districts. In 2010, Mayor Michael Pavia proposed merging those departments so resources and 59 full-time firefighters could be shared. The plan has been bogged down since the mayor introduced it to the city's Board of Representatives in 2010.
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Copyright 2012 - The Stamford Advocate, Conn.
