Another tort filed

Another tort claim involving the City of Portland came to light during Monday’s Portland City Council meeting.

Council member Mike Aker brought up the claim during the council comments portion of the meeting.

The claim names the City of Portland, the office of the clerk-treasurer of Portland, clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips and Portland City Council members Dave Golden, Ron May and Aker.

The claim seeks up to the statutory limit of $700,000 per claimant in compensatory damages, unspecified punitive damages and injunction relief including training for city officials, systemic reforms for the city to prevent future abuses and court orders prohibiting “further disclosure or misuse of confidential information.”

(A tort claim is a formal notice that alleges personal injury or property damage and seeks compensation. Under Indiana law, a written notice of tort claim must be filed before suing a government entity.)

The claim is the latest in a series of six that are now active that name the City of Portland, its police department, an elected official or an employee. (Two other claims have since been resolved.)

In the 28-page document, Mock and Hopkins allege a long list of violations, including:

•That Phillips sent written communications to city council members containing false allegations against Mock, Hopkins and others within the police department; repeatedly released protected confidential information, including to The Commercial Review; deleted police email accounts without proper authority; and opened mail addressed to the police department or officers. She is also accused of harassment and intimidation

•Conflict of interest and ethical violations by city attorney Wes Schemenaur, arguing his roles as city attorney, county attorney, prosecutor and an attorney in private practice led to those violations. It also alleges that he disregarded procedure regarding a 2024 complaint Mock made against Phillips.

•That Aker, who is Phillips’ father, and Golden were involved in an email exchange that amounted to a “coordinated campaign of misinformation, defamation and retaliatory conduct.”

•Prejudgment and bias by May, who the claim says acknowledged his intent to vote against any requests presented by the chief of police, and Golden, because he has publicly complimented Phillips’ work during council meetings.

The claim is dated Sept. 5 and is signed by Mock and Hopkins. No legal representation is indicated in the document. It was delivered by certified mail to the entities and individuals named.

Of the other active tort claims, one has advanced to court with Phillips suing the city, the police department, Mock and Hopkins. In that case, Special Judge Douglas Mawhorr granted Phillips’s motion for a joint case management order, which establishes a shared timeline for pretrial proceedings leading to a trial. He gave the parties involved 30 days to submit their proposals.

On Friday, attorney Katlyn M. Christman Clark Johnson & Knight, Merrillville, filed a motion Friday to dismiss Portland clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips’ lawsuit against the police department, Portland Police Chief Dustin Mock and investigator Jeff Hopkins, arguing that they cannot be sued. (The City of Portland is also named in the suit.)

In her lawsuit, Phillips alleges that she has been the focus of “torment, harassment and defamation” by the city’s police department.

Portland wastewater department employee Brad Clayton filed two claims, alleging that that his Family Medical Leave Act information was illegally made public and that he was berated by wastewater department superintendent Brad Dues and that city representatives, including mayor Jeff Westlake, spread information about him and his job.

Former Portland police officer Patrick Long alleges various incidents of harassment and other issues, and former Portland police officer Kyle Denney alleges that Westlake made statements that included allegations of misconduct against him.