Treasurer agrees to mediation

At hearing, attorneys apologize for failing to notify judge

State Treasurer Dennis Milligan and his chief of staff have agreed to enter mediation in an attempt to settle a defamation lawsuit filed against them by Milligan's former outreach manager, David Singer.

Singer's attorney, Lucien Gillham, gave Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen the news during a court hearing Tuesday morning.

Singer had asked Griffen to issue a preliminary injunction ordering Milligan to give him a public "name-clearing hearing," but the request is on hold, Gillham said.

After Griffen chided the attorney for failing to notify the court ahead of time, Gillham and an attorney representing the defendants both apologized.

After the court hearing, Gillham told reporters that the parties "are going to mediate this to attempt to resolve Mr. Singer's issues, and we hope we can do so without further expenditure of time and public funds.

"If the settlement is not reached, then we will most likely go back to the judge, request another hearing, request that it be expedited so we can get to trial as soon as possible and deal with any issues that are not addressed in that mediation. We are just hoping to address the issues with respect to Mr. Singer's reputation."

Asked whether Singer wants his job back in the treasurer's office, Gillham said "that is a possibility, yes."

Singer was terminated April 27 from his $65,000-a-year job as Milligan's outreach manager, which he had held since Jan. 14.

Milligan and Chief of Staff Jim Harris are represented by the office of Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.

Rutledge spokesman Judd Deere said Tuesday in a written statement that "the parties have mutually agreed at attempting to resolve this matter through mediation.

"The attorney general's office will continue to act as counsel to Treasurer Milligan and Mr. Harris in this process," Deere said.

Milligan on Friday became a defendant in Singer's defamation lawsuit filed May 28 against Harris.

Singer named Milligan -- both individually and in his official capacity as treasurer -- in his lawsuit.

In the complaint, Singer said Milligan fired him because Milligan "thought that [Singer] was mentally ill and because, shortly before he was fired, [Singer] complained about using public funds to engage in political activities and harassment, each an activity protected by the Arkansas Whistleblower Act."

Milligan's office has referred questions about Singer's complaint to Rutledge's office.

Singer, whose wife died of breast cancer June 30, said in the lawsuit that Harris had "published to people and the press" that Singer "had mental problems" sparked by the loss of his wife. The suit says Harris also accused Singer of "inappropriate activity with females" and "acting in a bizarre fashion," but "all of this was untrue and Harris knew it was untrue."

The day the suit was filed, Milligan's office issued a statement saying that the "allegations made by Mr. Singer are untrue."

After Singer was fired April 27, he said he didn't know why he had been fired and that Harris didn't give him a reason for the termination.

During Tuesday morning's court hearing, Gillham said his client had requested a hearing on a preliminary injunction because "under the due process clause, employees have a right to what is called a name-clearing hearing when their employment has been terminated in such a manner that it has impaired their reputation. And that is the way Mr. Singer's employment was terminated."

But Griffen said he had been advised that the parties have agreed to enter mediation on Singer's lawsuit, and he asked Gillham whether that was true.

Gillham replied that "we got the call" Monday from Assistant Attorney General Patricia Bell, and Milligan "apparently is having some sort of medical issue and is going into surgery [Tuesday]." Harris later said Milligan is scheduled to undergo surgery today, but he declined to say why.

Then, Griffen asked, "So why I am having a hearing?"

Gillham explained that "basically that [phone call] came in late [Monday] afternoon."

Griffen said his office phone works all night and there is an answering machine, and he had been in his office since 8:30 a.m. and nobody called him in advance of the hearing scheduled for 10 a.m.

Gillham apologized to Griffen for not calling him in advance of the hearing, adding that "there is not really a good excuse."

After Gillham said he was going to ask Griffen to set a court date for late July if the mediation fails, then said he would make the request after June 23 if he needs to do so, Griffen said that he's "testy" but "not irritated."

Gillham said, "When you are a lawyer, you maybe mess up sometimes and you have to take your medicine, and that's totally fair."

Bell said that "we share responsibility" for not properly informing Griffen in advance of Tuesday's hearing. "I apologize to the court as well," Bell said.

Griffen said a call would have been nice.

"It's not typical to show up at date time and say, 'Sugar, I don't plan to take you out,'" he said. "Back in Pike County, that's the kind of stuff that means you don't get more dates."

The court hearing came a day after a spokesman for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network said the nonprofit group will return donations that were made by Milligan and his Deputy Chief of Staff Jason Brady, money donated after questions were raised about Brady's misuse of the charity's resources.

Brady worked for the nonprofit group while running Milligan's campaign, and emails obtained by the Arkansas News Bureau indicate he was performing campaign work in 2013 and 2014 during his work hours at the charity. Ray Carson, a cancer society spokesman, said the nonprofit group received the contributions last week from Milligan and Brady, but he declined to specify the size of the gifts.

Last week, the Jefferson County Republican Committee called for Milligan to resign, with its chairman, Peter Smykla Jr. of Pine Bluff, saying Milligan's actions have been a "betrayal of our confidence and trust." Although Singer is a member of the committee, Smykla said Singer's firing didn't lead the committee to call for Milligan's resignation.

Milligan, a former Saline County circuit clerk and Republican Party of Arkansas chairman, promised to restore integrity to the office after the arrest and conviction of former Treasurer Martha Shoffner, a Newport Democrat. But he's had his own ethics problems since taking office in January.

On March 13, Milligan signed an agreement with Rutledge to pay a $1,000 civil penalty for violating state law by hiring his cousin for a treasurer's office job.

He paid the $1,000 fine upon signing the three-page agreement and voluntarily reimbursed the state for Sam Swayze's gross salary of $6,941.62 for the period that his cousin worked for Milligan's office. Swayze's salary had been $63,000 per year.

Metro on 06/10/2015

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