The lawyer for Woodstock Police Chief Joe Swanson has filed a motion in state court asking a judge to compel Interim Police Chief Chris O’Keeffe to attend a deposition for the $5 million lawsuit pending against the Village of Woodstock and some local officials.
Attorney Linda E. Fraas, on behalf of Swanson, also is asking the court to award attorney’s fees for her latest motion because the village is balking at a recent court order that lifted a hold issued on Aug. 27, 2025 on the lawsuit.
Attorney John Klesch, on behalf of Woodstock, said in an email exchange with Fraas that the village may ask Vermont Superior Court Judge Kerry Ann McDonald-Cady to reconsider her ruling putting Swanson’s $5 million civil lawsuit back on the active track. The village, municipal manager Eric Duffy, trustee chair Seton McIlroy and O’Keeffe are among the named defendants in the lawsuit.
O’Keeffe told the Standard he “is prepared to give a deposition whenever it is held.”
Duffy did not respond to a request for comment from the Standard.
Attorney Andrew C. Boxer of Springfield, who represents another defendant, Burgess Loss Prevention Associates of Lebanon, N.H., had confirmed in an email on Feb. 6 that he would be available to attend the proposed deposition of O’Keeffe during the week of Feb. 23.
Klesch is balking.
Fraas filed a motion in court to compel O’Keeffe’s attendance at a deposition on Feb. 25. She also asked for attorneys fees due to the perceived stalling. Fraas said she had proposed the deposition date in an email to lawyers on Feb. 3, but within four hours, Klesch said he would need two days to respond. Fraas said Klesch never responded and was prompted again on Feb. 6.
With no response again on Feb. 6 from Klesch, Fraas said, she sent a reminder on Feb. 7, along with other legal filings to him. Klesch never responded either on Feb. 7 or 8, Fraas said in court papers.
“On Feb. 9th, Attorney Klesch communicated an intent to ignore the Court Order vacating the stay,” she wrote.
Fraas said Klesch contended that none of the requests for documents should be answered at this time and “that defendant O’Keeffe’s deposition would not go forward, and that he intended to apply for a protective order as well as another stay of discovery.”
She maintained Klesch is trying to delay the proceedings, which the court put back on track last week.
She said, “In light of Attorney Klesch’s strategic attempts to block this case from proceeding (in contravention of this Court’s most recent order),” she sent O’Keeffe the notice for his deposition.
Fraas wrote the judge to say “the parties are at a complete impasse and require this Court’s immediate intervention.”
Fraas said her plan is to proceed with the scheduled deposition on Feb. 25 and Swanson will ask to be awarded expenses if O’Keeffe fails to show.
Klesch said in an email to Fraas that he hopes to postpone any discovery by the two sides in the case for at least 45 days.
For more on this story, please see our Feb. 12 edition of the Vermont Standard.
