The attorney for Mark Lawson, the former Sparks fire chief, sent a second letter of appeal Thursday to the city because of his brief tenure.
The letter provides a two-week deadline for those demands, including submission to the city council, to be met, otherwise “Chief Lawson will have no other choice but seeking relief in court.”
$441,218.83 – $250,000 is being sought in the letter for defamation, $20,000 for attorney’s fees and attorney’s fees, and the rest for unused vacation pay. Insurance is also required for six months.
The demand stems from a dispute over Lawson’s departure as a Sparks employee.
In early December, less than a week after Lawson started as fire chief, Sparks City Manager Neil Krutz announced in a since-removed YouTube video made for firefighters that Lawson had resigned and was pending felony charges against him. Four drug charges related to steroids were immediately issued against Lawson.
Lawson said he has not resigned and should be innocent until proven guilty. His attorney, Jason Guinasso, asked that Lawson be reinstated until the drug case is over — or the deputy manager means an employee on paid leave.
Thursday’s letter from Guinasso thanked Sparks’ attorney Wes Duncan “for engaging in a positive conversation with me about Chief Lawson.”
The petition accuses Krutz of grossly biasing the public against Lawson and expresses the hope of a legal process to determine how Krutz knew about the felony charges before filing them. them.
In an email to RGJ, Guinasso said, “I will be doing a series of public records requests to help us understand what the City Manager knew, who he was. talk about it, and time about Lawson.”
According to the letter, Guinasso and his colleagues analyzed the Nevada jury verdicts, and found large sums, believing that Lawson “suffered at least $500,000 in reputational damages.” has been defamed in public.”
He continued, “Mr. Lawson has agreed to accept a $250,000 settlement as compensation for the injuries he suffered as a result of the defamatory statements made by Manager Krutz.”
That figure does not include the demand for what they say he is owed in lieu of an official suspension budget for wages and benefits.
Through a spokesperson, the city told RGJ, “Since this matter is currently in the court stage, the city of Sparks has no further comment.”
Division Chief Jim Kindness is acting as deputy fire chief. He has postponed his retirementwhich was planned for the next two months, until a new fire chief arrives.