The Village of Woodstock is claiming that its contract with former Police Chief Joseph Swanson did not expressly ban demoting him, according to the latest legal filings in the lawsuit to overturn the demotion.
The Village, in its 15-page memorandum, also argued that any action not forbidden by an employment agreement must be allowed.
Woodstock also maintains that Swanson “has not established that reinstatement is a likely remedy regardless of the outcome of the breach of contract claim, such that Petitioner cannot demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits.”
Swanson’s lawyer, Linda Fraas, has responded to the Village, noting that Woodstock “incorrectly interprets basic contract law and abused its authority when it decided to ‘demote’” Swanson to patrol officer in April.
Fraas said in her response to the Village that “as a matter of law, demotion is obviously not permitted because it alters the very essence of the contract.”
Municipal manager Eric Duffy and village lawyers John H. Klesch and Matt Bloomer have opted not to respond to inquiries from the Vermont Standard seeking comments in recent months.
Swanson has appealed to Vermont Superior Court his demotion ordered by Duffy and upheld by the Village Trustees after a 14.5-hour marathon hearing in March.
Swanson also has filed a separate $5 million lawsuit against Duffy, the five Village Trustees — chair Seton McIlroy, vice chair Jeffrey Kahn, and members Brenda Blakeman, Frank Horneck and Lisa Lawlor — along with the village and town and a private detective firm.
It will be up to Judge H. Dickson Corbett to determine if the preliminary injunction blocking the Village last month from naming a new police chief will remain in place, or whether Woodstock can appoint a new police chief. He issued the order following a court hearing last month.
For more on this, please see our July 3 edition of the Vermont Standard.
