CORNWALL, Ontario – City hall and Cornwall’s former mayor have filed a court motion seeking the dismissal of a conflict of interest lawsuit filed by a retired deputy fire chief.
A date has been set aside to hear the motion, put forward by the law firm representing the city and former mayor Bob Kilger. Court staff indicate the next date for the case is July 10.
The motion suggests that former Cornwall deputy fire chief Rob Hickley has not moved forward on the lawsuit in some time and the action should be terminated.
In late 2013 a judge ruled that Hickley could not force city hall to pay his legal bills while he took the corporation and former mayor to court over allegations that his whistleblower complaint concerning hiring improprieties at the fire department had been bungled.
In that time, according to court documents filed in support of a dismissal of the case, Hickley has done little to advance the case.
He is no longer represented by legal counsel, has made public statements that he no longer intends to pursue the case, has not served notice that he plans to represent himself in further proceedings and has done little to “move this action forward” said court documents.
In the meantime Kilger was defeated in last year’s municipal election.
It’s not clear when a judge will actually decide on the dismissal.
Hickley retired from the city fire service in October 2013, after outing himself as one of two city whistleblowers at the time. Hickley has alleged that former CAO Paul Fitzpatrick interfered with the fire department’s hiring practices to ensure Kilger’s son was added to the payroll. He also accused the mayor of failing to declare a conflict of interest during council’s discussions of his complaint.
