A lawsuit brought against the city by a Wrangell resident has come to a close, after Judge Kevin Miller dismissed the case. Kipha Valvoda brought a lawsuit against several former and current members of Wrangell's government in March of 2019.
An amended complaint was filed by the plaintiff in April 2019, but the lawsuit originally began in March of that year. Valvoda claimed the borough used unfair hiring practices that kept him from finding employment with the city. He also claimed, in his April amended complaint, that city officials violated the law to give preferential treatment to some potential hires and misused taxpayer money. Defendants in the lawsuit included former mayor David Jack, current mayor Steve Prysunka, several current and former assembly members, and other city employees.
"... I intend to expose the pattern of waste of tax monies, of salaries that are in excess of abilities or experience," Valvoda wrote in his complaint. "I also contend that the hiring managers were lax in their due diligence and absent from their jobs while collecting an inflated salary."
The lawsuit was removed from the trial schedule on Aug. 10 of this year after the city's attorney, Joseph Levesque, filed a motion to dismiss. In this motion, Levesque claimed that Valvoda had failed to respond to the defense's discovery requests and did not provide any evidence "that his ongoing refusal to comply ... is not willful in nature." In his opposition to the motion to dismiss, Valvoda wrote that he only has limited knowledge of the law and court proceedings, while Wrangell has professional lawyers. He also accused the city of violating state and local laws, and of hiring incompetent people.
Judge Miller dismissed the case on Oct. 7, with prejudice. In his order, he wrote that Valvoda willfully and repeatedly refused to respond to discovery requests, as well as to court orders to respond to the discovery requests. Furthermore, the order reads, his lack of participation in the proceedings of the case have made its continuation seem unlikely.
"Mr. Valvoda's willful failures to meaningfully participate in preparing this case for trial have resulted in substantial and unfair prejudice to the defendants," Miller wrote. "The Court has ordered Mr. Valvoda to comply and when he has not, the Court has twice sanctioned him. In the Court's last order, Mr. Valvoda was warned that continued failure to comply could result in dismissal. This case has been pending for a year and a half and the defense has expended considerable time and effort to move this case along. Because of Mr. Valvoda's refusal to comply with his obligations under the Civil Rules and Court orders, this case has not progressed and it is clear that it will not likely progress. As a result, the defense is entitled to have this litigation end."
During their meeting on Oct. 13, the borough assembly held an executive session to discuss the city filing a motion for attorney's fees and bill of costs in the Valvoda case. Half of the borough's costs for the lawsuit are covered by Alaska Public Entity Insurance, Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said in a previous interview, but half of costs from the lawsuit are still their responsibility.
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