Maplewood Racks Up Legal Bills in Discrimination, Eminent Domain Cases

A pair of discrimination lawsuits involving two former Maplewood police officers have cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the city's legal bills are only expected to rise.

The two suits, along with two other cases, have cost Maplewood at least $250,000 this fiscal year. Maplewood City Council members authorized a city staff request to spend another $100,000 before the fiscal year ends this month.

"We've had court cases that involved litigation, so that runs up legal bills that you don't anticipate," City Manager Marty Corcoran said after the meeting.

Two female former Maplewood police officers have sued the city for gender discrimination. Both cases are still ongoing. One was originally filed in 2006 and the other a year ago.

Both women were sergeants in the police department before they resigned. Ellen Wallingsford started in 1986 and left in 2004. Leanna Peoples joined the department in 1999 and resigned almost two years ago.

One sergeant's suit

One of Peoples' initial court filings claims she was often punished for breaking rules that weren't enforced for the department's white, male officers.

The documents state Peoples was reprimanded for not writing reports while other officers who did the same received no reprimands. Peoples, in the court filings, said she was the subject of internal affairs investigations after she received multiple traffic tickets. Some male officers also got tickets, but weren't investigated, the documents allege.

Peoples also alleges she was being followed by other officers to check up on her and that she was the subject of many derogatory remarks.

One fellow sergeant referred to her as "that black gay bitch that I hate," the documents claim.

Maplewood, in a response, stated Peoples received reprimands and was the subject of an investigation, but the city denied many other allegations, including the discrimination claims.

Peoples ultimately resigned after being told to work under a sergeant who the documents claim was one of the primary perpetrators of the discrimination and harassment she experienced.

Peoples went to Maplewood Police Chief Steve Kruse and then Corcoran to say she did not feel safe working under Sgt. Michael Martin. In court documents, the city admitted Peoples said something like that, but Corcoran did not overrule the order to work under Martin. She resigned a few weeks later.

Peoples filed her lawsuit after her resignation. A trial is scheduled for January.

Missouri Supreme Court weighs in

Wallingsford's allegations claim she was passed over for promotion and was the subject of internal investigations with no basis.

"I was upset about the continual treatment I thought I was being faced with at the police department," stated Wallingsford in court documents.

One specific allegation was that a police officer took a knife that was in evidence and kept it for personal use. Wallingsford found out about the theft, but failed to get it back for several days.

Former police chief, and current mayor, James White said, in an affidavit, that he wrote a reprimand for Wallingsford following an internal investigation and recommended Corcoran suspend her without pay for three days. The suspension was never carried out.

Wallingsford alleges, in court documents, that the reprimand was based on her gender since the officer's male supervisor, who also knew about the knife theft, was not punished in the same way.

The officer who took the knife was renting a house from Wallingsford at the time, and he ultimately resigned.

Mayor White also stated, in a deposition, that many officers didn't like working with Wallingsford. A meeting with the patrol officers showed many had problems working for her, he stated.

A letter from the Missouri Commission on Human Rights seems to support White. The letter was in response to a complaint Wallingsford filed while she still worked for the city. The commission found no evidence that Wallingsford was harassed because of gender.

"Rather, statements indicate that most officers refuse to work with (Wallingsford) because they dislike her and the way she treats them," according to the Commission's letter.

Wallingsford appealed the commission's ruling and filed a lawsuit in 2006. Maplewood attempted to have the case dismissed for a variety of reasons, including that her suit was filed too long after the original incidents happened. It eventually went to the state's Supreme Court which ruled in Wallingsford's favor and sent it back to lower courts. A settlement conference is now scheduled for Oct. 4.

Other cases raise legal bills

A pair of other cases—an eminent domain case and a dispute over a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) redevelopment agreement—also have contributed to the city's hefty legal bills.

One case concerned an effort by Maplewood to seize , a used car lot next to through eminent domain.

The city offered $140,000 for the property early on, but ended up paying about $520,000 in a settlement agreement.

Anthony's Leasing and Development Company owned the half-acre property at 7629 Manchester Road. Corcoran said the land would be used for a new city fire station. That project is about three years away, he said.

When the station is complete, there will be additional parking in the lot for city hall. That's needed because the city will lose about 40 parking spots , Corcoran stated in a 2008 city memo.

Mike Heyer, general manager of the car lot, said the city now owns the lot on which the business is located. He said his experience with the city has been positive.

"They've been nothing but easy to get along with and accommodating," he said.

The city was also involved in a lawsuit with Cambridge Commons Development over a redevelopment agreement. Corcoran said there was a disagreement over when payments to the company by the city would begin.

They reached a settlement and the case was dismissed. The city has been making payments since last year and has $443,000 left to pay in the next 10 years.