Monessen officials asking for reversal of Sunshine Act ruling

By KRISTIE LINDEN

klinden@yourmvi.com

Monessen Mayor Matt Shorraw and two councilmen will ask a judge Friday to reconsider his ruling against them in a lawsuit alleging Sunshine Act violations. 

Westmoreland County Judge Chris Scherer granted former Mayor Lou Mavrakis’ request for default judgment in a suit he filed against Shorraw and councilmen Don Gregor and Gil Coles.

The suit is one of three that were filed this year against Shorraw, the city and the councilmen alleging Sunshine Act violations took place during the council’s reorganization meeting Jan. 6.

The allegations center around the claim that a private agenda was used, which seemed to be available only to the mayor, and the public was not given a reasonable opportunity to comment on the actions taken.

The default judgment was requested by Mavrakis because the defendants and their attorneys never responded to the original lawsuit and failed to meet several deadlines or file any motions regarding the suit. 

In a June hearing, Scherer told Mavrakis he was going to do some research and if he was able to give him the default judgment, he would do so. 

In his judgment order, Scherer said the defendants failed to file a response to the default judgment request and instead filed a response to the original lawsuit, which was due at the end of February. The deadline for a response to the default judgment request was in the beginning of April.

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