Peterborough’s town insurance is covering the cost of the two wrongful termination lawsuits brought by former employees, according to Deputy Town Administrator Nicole MacStay.
Earlier this year, former Recreation Director Jeff King successfully appealed a court dismissal of his wrongful termination lawsuit and his case is scheduled for a jury selection in May 2021. Former Deputy Town Clerk Gayle Bohl is seeking a jury trial for her own wrongful termination suit, filed on Oct. 20.
“It’s not uncommon in this day and age for towns to be sued by former employees or on account of contracts or civil rights violations,” local attorney Silas Little said, and that it’s also not unheard of for a town to juggle multiple lawsuits simultaneously. Furthermore, most cases settle or reach another conclusion before the requested trial, he said.
Primex, the insurer for the town of Peterborough, covers the cost of attorneys and court fees, MacStay said. Insurance would pay for certain settlements, such as slip-and-fall lawsuits or other facilities-related cases, she said, but it wouldn’t cover settlements over lost wages. That would be paid for through the town’s budget for payroll and wouldn’t become an unanticipated cost, she said.
Although Bohl’s lawsuit is against the town, the case rests on the alleged conduct of Town Clerk Linda Guyette, who is an elected official. When asked whether the lawsuit could result in Guyette’s removal from office, Little said that the process of removing an elected official from office is entirely governed by a fairly narrow statute, and there would not be grounds for removal unless the official had stolen public funds, acted grossly negligent, or became incapacitated or failed to do their work, he said.
A GoFundMe fundraiser has raised $1,095 towards Guyette’s own legal fees. Peterborough resident Stephen Smillie set up the fundraiser, and 17 people had donated as of Monday. Smillie did not return a request for comment, but wrote on the page that the funds would help “recoup legal fees incurred.” Guyette’s lawyer, Anne Rice, did not return a request for clarification about whether Guyette would be directly involved in any lawsuit by press time.