City faces another tort claim

A fifth tort claim is open against The City of Portland.

The Commercial Review learned this week of the additional tort claim, filed by former wastewater department employee Brad Clayton. The newspaper reported on four other open tort claims last week as well as two claims that have been resolved.

Also Tuesday, the special judge in a lawsuit filed against the city by clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips issued an order in that case.

In a claim filed June 10, Clayton alleges that co-workers had knowledge of his private Family Medical Leave Act information and details of his personal medical history that he did not disclose. It says Clayton met with Phillips and alleges that she told him the Family Medical Leave Act information and details were public information. It adds that Phillips shared Clayton’s private medical history at a Portland Board of Works public hearing.

It also alleges that Phillips, while on government property, made a phone call to her mother during which she disclosed Clayton’s leave status and his diagnoses. (It says the call was recorded.)

“This action constitutes a violation of federal HIPAA laws as she owed a duty to keep private medical information confidential, and then subsequently breached said duty by knowingly, recklessly, and negligently revealing such information without Mr. Clayton’s permission,” the claim says.

Like the other claims, it does not specify damages being sought.

McKinney & Company of Muncie is representing Clayton. The law firm did not respond to The Commercial Review’s request for comment on the tort claim before deadline.

Motion granted

Special Judge Douglas K. Mawhorr granted a motion from Phillips for a joint case management order in her lawsuit against the city. Mawhorr gave the parties involved 30 days to submit their proposals.

A joint case management order establishes a shared timeline for pretrial proceedings leading to a trial.

Phillips, who is suing the city, its police department, Mayor Jeff Westlake and Police Chief Dustin Mock, alleges that she has been the focus of “torment, harassment and defamation” by the city’s police department. In that claim, she says Mock and Hopkins reviewed and distributed video footage of Phillips exercising in the city’s exercise room and that those recordings included her private telephone conversations.

Other claims

The city is currently facing three other tort claims, including another by Clayton — Miller, Burry & Brown of Decatur is representing him in that action — in which he alleges he was berated by wastewater department superintendent Brad Dues and that city representatives, including mayor Jeff Westlake, spread information about him and his job. 

It also says allegations made during the Dec. 17, 2024, board of works meeting regarding his work, attitude and missed time were untrue and unsubstantiated.

At that meeting, Phillips reported that Clayton had been working for another department while taking time off from Portland. Dues also provided a letter to the board of works regarding the situation. Phillips noted communication issues between Clayton and Dues, and Westlake said he had consulted with city attorney Wes Schemenaur and he agreed there were grounds for termination based on city ordinance and policies. The board of works voted unanimously to terminate Clayton’s employment.

Former police officer Patrick Long alleges incidents of harassment and other issues. He alleges attempts to coerce him to misrepresent facts during an investigation and says leadership of the police department disregarded policy on various occasions.

Kyle Denney, another former police officer, alleges that Westlake made statements that included allegations of misconduct against him. It adds that Jay County Probation Office employee Ashley Reynolds made defamatory statements about Denney to his superiors in the police department.

Additional tort claims filed by former Portland police officer Chris Jack and Angel Cox, who was a Jay County Sheriff’s Office employee, in June 2024 are no longer active.