Monessen: Objection filed to Sunshine Act lawsuit
By KRISTIE LINDEN
klinden@yourmvi.com
The Redevelopment Authority officers sued by the mayor and more than a dozen residents of Monessen say the lawsuit falls short of making a claim that they violated the Sunshine Act.
Mayor Matt Shorraw filed the suit against Lou Mavrakis as chairman of the city’s Redevelopment Authority and Ron Mozer as its treasurer, alleging Sunshine Act violations. Mozer went on to defeat Shorraw one week later in the Democratic primary race for mayor.
The Redevelopment Authority itself was not sued, and according to Redevelopment Authority Solicitor Joseph Dalfonso, only filing suit against two authority members is legally insufficient under the Sunshine Act.
Shorraw is representing himself in the case in the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas and said he filed the suit in his capacity as a private resident, not as mayor.
Councilmen Don Gregor and Gil Coles are also plaintiffs in the suit, acting in their personal capacity.
Other plaintiffs named in the suit are former Mayor Mary Jo Smith, former Mayor and former state Rep. Ted Harhai, Kathleen Harhai, Devona Carter, Paula Fink, Johna Panepinto, Donna Koltash, Keith Koltash, Claudese West, Mary Wisyanski, Linzi Troilo and former councilman Dr. Martin Dudas.
The suit claims the Redevelopment Authority didn’t advertise all its meetings, which is a violation of the Sunshine Act.
However, in the preliminary objection, Dalfonso wrote that Shorraw failed to specify which meetings were held without advertisement and which were held in violation of the law. Dalfonso argues Shorraw did not allege in his suit that Mavrakis or Mozer were even responsible for the alleged violations.
“The complaint … without specifying which RDA meetings were in violation of the law, reached a conclusion that Mr. Mavrakis and Mr. Mozer should have known meetings were not properly advertised,” Dalfonso wrote.
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