Breuder Files Lawsuit Against COD Trustees That Fired Him

Robert Breuder filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court against the four trustees that voted to fire him Tuesday night.

• Read More: College of DuPage Board Fires Robert Breuder

The lawsuit claims Breuder was unjustly terminated, his name defamed and also levels several allegations against the four trustees that voted Tuesday in favor of firing him and stripping him of his $760,000 severance package. The lawsuit names Board Chairwoman Kathy Hamilton and trustees Deanne Mazzochi, Frank Napolitano and Charles Bernstein as defendants.

“The recent actions of the COD Board are illegal on multiple levels – period. It’s time for Dr. Breuder to set the record straight, the web of false accusations by certain members of the current board must stop,” Breuder’s attorney, Martin A. Dolan, said Wednesday. “Dr. Breuder’s reputation has been irreparably harmed by the callous and reckless conduct of a few. This is nothing more than an abuse of office and power by a board who has a personal vendetta and will stop at nothing to try and find wrongdoing, of which there is none.”

The lawsuit levels several allegations against Hamilton. Four pages of the lawsuits are focused on how Hamilton “maliciously tarnished Breuder’s professional reputation and acted to interfere with his contractual and constitutional rights solely for personal interests and political aspirations.”

Hamilton joined the board in April 2013. Hamilton said her motivation for running for the board was to use the position to attain higher political office,” according to the lawsuit.

“Defendant Hamilton stated that she planned to achieve that goal by finding something wrong with the College, specifically by using her purported experience as a CPA to find irregularities in the college’s finances and spending,” according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims Hamilton discredited Breuder to the media several times.

Hamilton recruited new candidates for the board who ran for election on a “Clean Slate” platform, which was focused on “ending Breuder-era corruption” and “claw[ing] back as much of President Breuder’s $763,000 as legally possible,” according to the lawsuit. Those candidates, Deanne Mazzochi, Frank Napolitano and Charles Bernstein, all ended up casting the additional votes needed to fire Breuder on Tuesday.

Ironically, since the election, Defendants Hamilton, Mazzochi, Napolitano, and

Bernstein, and the “Clean Slate” Political Action Committee have had five complaints filed

against them collectively with the State Board of Elections for violations of campaigning

disclosure requirements. In addition, on April 2, 2015, the College’s Internal Auditor issued a

report finding that Defendant Hamilton’s endorsement of the “Clean Slate” candidates violated

the College’s ethics policies, specifically through her participation in prohibited political activity

while acting in her official capacity as Vice-Chairman of the Board.

The lawsuit claims Breuder’s reputation has been destroyed during the process of his termination. On Feb. 25, the board prohibited Breuder from talking with the media. This action, according to the lawsuit, “had a grossly unfair and damaging effect on Dr. Breuder’s reputation.

“...Dr. Breuder has been shunned from the academic community, has been demonized and disparaged throughout the state of Illinois, has had already-awarded awards rescinded, and has been denied professional speaking and consultation opportunities,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also pointed out that though the board is required to give Breuder a review at the end of each fiscal year, Breuder did not received a negative review over the past five years.

Breuder is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for violations of constitutional and common law rights. The lawsuit also seeks compensatory damages for a breach of Breuder’s contract and that the trustees named in the lawsuit award compensatory and punitive damages to Breuder for claims of defamation and intentional interference.