Irvine City Manager Subject of Lawsuit – Trial Set for 11/22/19
Irvine City Manager, John Russo, is a co-defendant in a lawsuit against the City of Riverside. Mr. Russo is named because he is the former Riverside City Manager and an interested party in the lawsuit. His employment contracts and the circumstances surrounding his termination are issues in the litigation.
Causes of action in the upcoming trial include Unlawful Gift of Public Funds and Violation of the City Charter, Municipal Code, and California Constitution. The trial is scheduled to begin November 22, 2019, in Riverside Superior Court.
The issues about to come up at trial are outlined in these three briefs:
- Plaintiff’s Opening Trial Brief – Riverside resident Ben Clymer Jr. is the plaintiff and this is his argument explaining why the amended Riverside City Manager’s contract (John Russo) and City provided mortgage is illegal and what he seeks for relief.
- Co-Defendant John Russo’s Trial Brief – Mr. Russo’s explanation of facts and law as to why there is no basis to invalidate his contract, as well as other points.
- Plaintiff’s Trial Reply Brief– Rebuttal in response to the trial briefs filed by the City of Riverside and Mr. Russo.
2 Comments
Scott Hansen
November 7, 2019 at 10:17 amAlthough this is a post from Irvine Watchdog staff, I’d like to emphasize that lawsuits against cities are not uncommon. The mere fact this case is headed to trial does not mean Mr. Russo or the City of Riverside are guilty of anything.
UCIrvin
December 3, 2019 at 1:45 pmScott,
This article does not imply that John Russo nor the City of Riverside are guilty of anything. It is merely stating that a lawsuit has been brought upon by John based on his time as city manager of Riverside, which would be high relevance for those of us in Irvine as Mr. Russo is now in the same position from which he negotiated a city supported mortgage. We don’t want that nonsense here so it’s only fitting we find out whether the contract was illegal or not. Based on what Mr. Russo presented, it does seem valid, but from the citizen’s standpoint, it seems illegal so I guess we’ll find out soon whether Mr. Russo is guilty or not!
regards,
A concerned Irvine citizen who doesn’t want his city officials plundering funds supported by his property taxes
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