CAMDEN, Maine — A federal jury rejected Wednesday a former Camden police dispatcher’s nine-year effort to receive compensation for being laid off and not being offered subsequent job openings in the department.
But the attorney for Alan Clukey of Belmont said his client will appeal the verdict.
The jury in U.S. District Court in Portland issued its ruling following a three-day trial in the civil lawsuit brought by Clukey and his wife, Debra Clukey.
“Obviously the town is happy with the jury verdict and its interpretation of the contract,” said attorney Frederick Costlow of Bangor, who represents Camden.
But attorney David Glasser of Camden said Friday he will be filing a motion asking the judge for a new trial based on the contention that the judge’s instructions to the jury were in error. If that fails, Glasser said a third appeal will be filed with the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.
The case has wound its way through the federal court system for five years, including two appeals to the First District Court of Appeals in Boston, in which the court sided with Clukey.
Clukey had been a dispatcher for the town from 1976 until he was laid off in June 2007, when the town shifted its dispatch services to Knox County. He argued that as senior dispatcher he should have been offered openings in the Camden Police Department when they occurred. In the 12 months after he was laid off, however, he was not hired to fill openings for a parking enforcement officer or an administrative position.
The case ended up revolving around a clause in the police contract that required workers who were laid off to provide the town manager with their mailing addresses and telephone numbers if they wanted to be included on a recall list.
Clukey had contended that the town already had that information in his personnel file but passed over him for job openings.
The jury ruled that the preponderance of the evidence presented at trial found that Clukey was required to provide the address and phone number even though the town already had the information.
The witness list included former Town Manager Roberta Smith, current Town Manager Patricia Finnigan and Select Board Chair John French Jr., as well as Clukey.
Glasser said he is disappointed for the Clukeys that this case has gone on so long and that they will have to endure more litigation. He said the average time for a case to be heard in federal court is six months.
Twice the appeals court has sided with Clukey in overturning rulings by federal judges in Maine and sent the case back to the federal district court level. The latest appeals court ruling was in August 2015, when the appeals court pointed out the length of the case.
“These outstanding issues reflect the piecemeal approach to this litigation pursued by the parties,” the appeals court stated. “There is the potential for more appeals in a case where we have already had two. This is a regrettable situation that drains the resources of everyone involved. We urge the parties to seriously consider settlement on remand.”
No settlement was reached, however.