Whistleblowing Executive Director Of Housing Commission Fired For Demanding Compliance With Law And Important Rules And Regulations

In the Media:

Description of Case:

    For 17 years, Tony Love was the Executive Director for Defendant Housing Commission. He was well known in the community and good at his job.

    However, everything started to change in 2014. Love started to become aware of Defendant's Board engaging in what he recognized as improper activities, including, opening “blind bids” prematurely to compare amounts, violating the Open Meetings Act to further their own purposes, and even questionable usage of non-profit and public monies.

    Plaintiff reported all of these suspected violations to his superiors, who were the same people committing the violations. Unfortunately Defendants felt they could do whatever they wanted and warned the Plaintiff that he “better just do it”, and let their violations go through uncontested. To his great credit, Plaintiff took a stand and refused to back down, and, almost immediately afterward, Love was the subject of an investigation requested to answer Defendants' inquiries, which attempted to shift the blame from them to Love. When it became clear Love still would not back down, certain members of Defendant's Board of Directors publicly showed their outrage and anger and quickly terminated Love, in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act, Public Policy of Michigan, and the terms of his contract.

    Fortunately, not all housing commissions agreed with the actions of Defendants and appreciated an Executive Director who would stand up against pressure to protect the rights of the Commission and the people who rely on it. Only 6 months after his termination, the highly qualified Love was made the Executive Director of another housing commission where he actually ended up making more in salary the Defendant previous employer paid.

    The case settled shortly after for $100,000.

Overview of Case:

Type of Action: Whistleblower Protection Act, Breach of Contract, Violation of Public Policy

Injuries Alleged: Wrongful discharge from Executive Director position

Name of Case: Love v. Inkster Housing Commission, et al

Court: Wayne County Circuit Court

Case No: 15-008260-CZ

Tried Before: N/A

Name of Judge: Hon. Leslie Kim Smith

Jury Verdict: N/A

Settlement: $100,000 Settlement

Most Helpful Experts: Facilitated to settlement by Judge James Rashid

Allocation of Fault: N/A

Insurance Carrier: N/A

Attorney for Plaintiff: Tom R. Pabst, Michael A. Kowalko and Jarrett M. Pabst

Attorney for Defendants: Withheld

Key to Winning: Being able to prove Plaintiff’s case through pleadings, documents, and plenty of recorded meeting