An attorney for state Treasurer Dennis Milligan and his chief of staff, Jim Harris, is urging Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Miller to schedule a retrial of a federal lawsuit "at the Court's earliest convenience."
The case filed by a former treasurer's office employee, David Singer, alleges that Milligan fired him April 27, 2015, for a perceived disability in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and that Harris caused the illegal firing by questioning Singer's mental health, defaming him.
A federal jury began hearing the case Aug. 8, but as the case was winding down on Aug. 11, Harris was taken from the courtroom by paramedics, clutching his chest, and Miller declared a mistrial at the request of Singer's attorney, Luther Sutter. Sutter suggested that Harris might be faking a heart attack and said that in any event, he feared that jurors would be too sympathetic toward Harris to hold him accountable.
Harris was hospitalized at least overnight and returned to work a few weeks ago, but details of his condition haven't been disclosed.
In the motion requesting the setting of a trial, attorney Byron Freeland, who represents Milligan and Harris, said Sutter notified them last week that a cardiologist, Lee Davis, may be called as a potential witness in the retrial.
"He may have testimony to give concerning Harris' condition, especially if there is another event," the plaintiffs told the defendants, according to Freeland.
Freeland asked that Miller deny Singer's efforts to amend his witness or exhibit lists.
"Both sides prepared and tried the case to a jury, nearly to completion," Freeland said in the motion. "As such, there exists no basis for further discovery or continued argument on issues of evidence."
Metro on 09/10/2016