Before the start of the City Advertising and Promotion Commission meeting on March 10, the majority of commissioners were served with a Circuit Court lawsuit with more than $16.75 million sought in collective damages. Plaintiffs are former CAPC Events Coordinator Tracy Johnson, former Interim-Director Gina Rambo, CAPC Finance Director Rick Bright, CAPC Sales Director Karen Pryor, and former commissioner Greg Moon.
Those five individuals are represented by Tim Parker of Parker Law Firm on Spring St. and claim that their rights were violated by commissioners Carol Wright, Jeff Carter, James DeVito, Melissa Greene, Harry Meyer, Eureka Springs Mayor Butch Berry, Chief Administrative Assistant Kim Stryker, State Auto Mutual Insurance Company, and Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company.
The petition sues commissioners individually and as members of the CAPC, claiming that their actions “warrant the imposition of punitive damages.” The suit claims the rights of the plaintiffs were violated through acts of civil conspiracy, fraud, defamation, breach of contract, negligence, violations of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices, violations of the Arkansas Open Meetings Law, and violations of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
Plaintiffs’ claims include that Greg Moon was illegally removed from the commission in order to have the votes necessary to remove Johnson and Rambo as employees. Plaintiffs also claim that defendants took illegal initiative on Jan. 27 to remove Moon “in order that they could continue in their concerted efforts to take over the CAPC.”
The petition claims the minutes of the meeting to remove Moon were “illegally changed and altered” referencing an article published in a Carroll County newspaper to prove the discrepancy. The petition claims the defendants were “intentionally falsifying records.”
The suit claims that commissioner Carter improperly communicated with Johnson regarding her employment duties, and that then Chair Carol Wright, improperly instructed Bright not to pay Johnson for work she performed.
Communications between commissioners outside of public meetings were cited in the lawsuit as criminal violations, and there are claims that Wright and Carter made baseless and defamatory statements “accusing Moon of being a bad person, a troublemaker and someone who should not serve on the CAPC.”
The suit claims that Rambo was accused by Wright and Carter of improperly hiring Johnson without authority to do so, specifying that Rambo did have the authority to hire new employees. Additional claims are that Carter “falsely and maliciously filed or made false police reports against Rambo” regarding improperly sending business to Jeff [sic] Moyer of the Crescent and Basin Park Hotels and to Damon Henke. The suit claims that Carter accused Rambo of allowing Henke access to CAPC computers while she was interim director.
Further claims are that the City of Eureka Springs released unauthorized and “extremely personal and confidential information” of employees to the public, violating the employer-employee relationship. It names Kim Stryker in the mayor’s office as the person who had access to the computer files which supplied this information and claimed she “is liable to the plaintiffs in her own individual capacity.”
These and other acts were outlined in the lawsuit and deemed “totally unforgivable” by the plaintiffs. Moon requests the court reinstate him to the CAPC plus court costs, attorney’s fees, $1 million compensatory damages, and $3 million punitive damages. Johnson requests the court reinstate her position as an employee of the CAPC plus back salary, employee benefits and “all other just and proper relief” including $1 million compensatory damages and $3 million punitive damages.
Rambo requests the court reinstate her position as an employee of the CAPC plus back salary, employee benefits including $1 million compensatory damages, and $3 million punitive damages. Bright requests the removal of a derogatory personal evaluation, written by Wright, from his employee file, plus “court costs, attorney’s fees and all other just and proper relief” including $1 million compensatory damages and $3 million punitive damages. Karen Pryor requests $250,000 compensatory damages and $500,000 punitive damages.
The petition demands a trial by jury.
Commissioner Wright and the mayor’s office both said “No comment” when asked if they would be defended by the Arkansas Municipal League.