Former Granisle chief administrative officer (CAO) Gilles Archambault said a lawsuit he initiated against the Village of Granisle, Granisle mayor Frederick Clarke and councillors Dexter Ettinger and Thomas Liversidge last year, has now been settled out of court.
In the May 12, 2010, edition of the Lakes District News it was reported that Archambault had served a Writ of Summons for the Supreme Court of B.C. against the village, mayor Clarke and councillors Ettinger and Liversidge due to allegations of mistreatment.
The Writ of Summons was filed on April 29, 2010, and consisted of 19 pages that documented alleged incidents of mistreatment towards 71 year old Archambault, while he was working for the Village of Granisle.
The document was amended on March 4, 2011, to include more evidence of alleged mistreatment.
According to Archambault, he was employed as the village's chief administrative officer for eight years, from Jan. 1, 2002 to Feb. 10, 2010.
As the CAO he managed the operations of Granisle and reported back to council. He was responsible for the village's corporate and financial administration and had an annual salary of $66,360.
According to allegations made by Archambault in the Writ of Summons, Clarke arrived in Granisle in the summer of 2005 and allegedly embarked upon a campaign to discredit him.
In the document, Archambault alleges that before Clarke became mayor of Granisle, he said to a former Granisle resident, "The current mayor and council were ignorant country bumpkins who were under the complete control of the CAO, who was stealing funds from right under their noses."
The document states that during 2008, Clarke then became a candidate in the municipal election for the seat of mayor of Granisle. During this time Archambault alleges that Clarke made defamatory statements about him over the course of his campaign for mayor.
In the document Archambault alleges that statements were made to Debra Madore, a candidate for councillor at the time, including allegations that Archambault kept his office door locked because he kept pornography on his work computer.
Archambault alleged throughout the document that Clarke, Liversidge and Ettinger engaged in this conduct in an attempt to force him to resign from his position as CAO.
The document notes that Clarke, in his role as mayor, publishes a pamphlet titled 'News and Views from Mayor Clarke' on a regular basis. The pamphlets are distributed to every resident of Granisle and also the surrounding areas of Topley Landing, Tachet Reserve, Mill Bay Rd. and Axe Rd.
Archambault stated in the document that on a number of occasions Clarke used the 'News and Views' to publicly discredit him, stating that he had exceeded his scope of authority as CAO and had made improper expenditures with municipal funds.
It is also alleged in the document that Archambault's competence as a CAO was repeatedly brought into question in front of the public at council meetings and in the 'News and Views'.
The Writ of Summons states that between Dec. 1, 2008, and Feb. 10, 2010, Clarke, sometimes with the assistance of councillors Liversidge and Ettinger, failed to support Archambault in his role as CAO and he credited an intolerable work environment.
He also alleged in the document that on a regular basis he was berated and humiliated in front of members of the general public and that his spending authority was reduced to $2,500, whereas it had previously been unlimited.
He said he eventually handed in his resignation, filing the Writ of Summons in April 2010, seeking damages for breach of contract and wrongful dismissal, damages for negligent infliction of mental suffering, damages for defamation, damages for intentional interference with contractual relations including breach of contract, damages for loss of reputation, aggravated damages, punitive damages, special damages and costs, including interest.
In February this year all parties subsequently agreed to attend mediation, eventually coming to the confidential agreement. Under the terms of the agreement the amount of compensation received by Archambault cannot be disclosed.
In a press release issued by Archambault, he said the lawsuit has been settled with the benefit of mediation and legal advice, with compromises made by all parties.
"The settlement is substantial and reflects the seriousness of the complaint," he said.
Archambault and his wife still live in Granisle and said they had always planned to retire there. "It is a nice little village."
Archambault said he now considers the matter closed. He said he has never received an apology, or expected he would get one. "The settlement was vindication enough."
"I agreed to the settlement because court costs could have ranged between $150,000 and $200,000 and then depending on the judge .... they could either go with you or against you and I didn't want to take that chance."
"Mediation was a nice process," he said, adding that he will steer well clear of any municipal politics from now on.
"I was having stress related heart problems, but it has been all good since I quit."
The Village of Granisle also released a statement regarding the settlement. The statement was prepared by the Village of Granisle's legal counsel.
It reads, "While Mr. Archambault's claims against the village included claims for damages, for defamation and other tort claims, the village, mayor Clarke and Coun. Liversidge and Ettinger maintained throughout, and continue to maintain, that their conduct in no way gave rise to any such causes of action. Simply put the mayor, Coun. Ettinger and Liversidge and the village denied, and continue to deny, all liability to Mr. Archambault in respect of the circumstances surrounding his resignation as the CAO for the village. In fact the settlement of lawsuits brought by Mr. Archambault was made by the village, mayor and Coun. Liversidge and Ettinger simply as a matter of business efficiency, recognizing that the costs of defending the lawsuits would be in excess of the costs to settle the matter. The village, mayor Clarke and Coun. Liversidge ad Ettinger believed it to be in the best interests of the village taxpayers to resolve the lawsuits at this time, rather than require the matter to proceed through the court, recognizing that the costs to the village of being vindicated by the court would be in excess of the cost of settling the matter before trial. From the perspective of the village, mayor Clarke and Coun. Liversidge and Ettinger, the settlement of these lawsuits was expressly not an admission of liability on any of their parts, and was not a reflection of any belief to them that Mr. Archambault's claims had merit."