Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Messina Lawsuit

NorthJersey.com published a story Wednesday thoroughly detailing the borough's closed session discussions about the lawsuit former Sgt. Michael Messina filed against the borough and police chief in 2008.

According to closed session minutes, Christopher Botta, the borough's legal counsel at the time, was initially optimistic that the borough had a strong defense against Messina's claims. He called the case a "slam dunk," according to councilman Kurt Peluso, and advised the borough against settling with the former sergeant.

Over time, however, the borough's opposition to settling the lawsuit softened after Messina prevailed in the initial trial and was awarded a total of $815,342.67 by a seven-person jury.

Even after the borough won a reversal on the amount of damages, the borough's new legal counsel, Thomas Hanrahan, recommended a settlement to minimize liability in a re-trial.

In the end, the , which it will split down the middle with its municpal excess liability (MEL) insurance. Democratic council members Lisa Swain and Kurt Peluso ultimately voted against the settlement, opting to take the case back to court based on.

For the full scoop, read the NorthJersey.com article. Feel free to use this thread to share comments.

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