By Roberto Acosta
mlive.com
GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A lawsuit brought by four Grand Blanc Township firefighters that alleged their First Amendment rights were violated after speaking out about fire staffing and the chief’s potential dismissal has been dismissed.
An order filed June 17 in U.S. District Court in Detroit shows the lawsuit filed against Superintendent Dennis Liimatta and the township was voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff’s attorney.
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The order closed the case with prejudice and without costs or fees to any party.
The firefighters filed the lawsuit in April, alleging Liimatta changed the procedure for becoming a full-time firefighter, eliminating part-timers from seeking such a position.
The lawsuit claimed the group desired to be full-time firefighters.
A June 2 response by the defendant’s counsel seeking the case’s dismissal stated the action was sought “because the Complaint does not allege a violation of law or constitutional right” and was based on assertions or conclusions.
“This Complaint is part of a campaign designed to pressure Grand Blanc to hire additional firefighters without regard for budget, planning, or operational considerations. Regardless, the Complaint fails to state a viable claim against Grand Blanc or Liimatta,” the response reads.
The lawsuit also alleged the change to procedure took place after the firefighters spoke out in support of township fire Chief Jamie Jent, who’d lobbied for more full-time firefighters, upgrading equipment, and maintaining safer staffing levels before and after the Sept. 28 shooting and fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that left five people dead, including the assailant, and nine others injured.
“Importantly, there is no allegation that Plaintiffs spoke directly to anyone about staffing levels. Rather, the Complaint suggests that the Plaintiffs made some unknown comments supporting Chief Jent in an attempt to prevent his potential firing,” the response reads. “The Complaint suggests that Chief Jent – not Plaintiffs – spoke about staffing additional firefighters. However, the Complaint contains no facts demonstrating what, if anything, each Plaintiff said about the Chief and what, if anything, each Plaintiff said about staffing.
“Without specific allegations Plaintiffs cannot establish that their comments involved matters of public concern, and/or whether they spoke as employees of the fire department (and as part of their job) or as private citizens. The Plaintiffs cannot establish a causal relation between their undefined speech and the decision to amend the hiring practices for full-time firefighters. Consequently, the Court cannot determine whether Plaintiffs’ interest in speaking outweighed Grand Blanc’s interest in hiring full-time firefighters.”
The response further stated the plaintiffs “have not alleged any adverse effect related to this change” as they are part-time and have not been demoted, or deprived of any benefits and called the clam “baffling because the purported change in the hiring process would impact all candidates equally.”
The response also stated Liimatta is entitled to qualified immunity and should be dismissed against him on that basis alone.
Government officials are protected from civil lawsuits through qualified immunity unless it can be proven an official violated a constitutional right or federal statutory.
In a message to MLive-The Flint Journal, the township said, “Grand Blanc Township did nothing wrong and supports Fire Chief Jent, Superintendent Liimatta, and the Townships inclusive employment policies that allow us to always seek out the best candidates for any employment position.”
“We are pleased with the voluntary dismissal brought by the plaintiff’s attorney in this case,” the message reads. “Grand Blanc Township stands behind our hiring and employment practices and will always vigorously defend against any false claims.”
A request for comment by the Journal to the firefighters’ attorney wasn’t immediately returned.
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