Judge tosses ex-Henderson police chief’s suit against city officials
A federal judge on Thursday tossed out former Henderson police Chief Patrick Moers’ lawsuit against Mayor Debra March and other current and former city employees.
“This is the result that I expected, and it’s the right result,” said former City Attorney Josh Reid, one of the defendants in the case.
The lawsuit, first filed in Clark County District Court in June, alleged March and others solicited false sexual misconduct claims against Moers, damaged his reputation and ultimately forced his resignation. He sought more than $50,000 in damages in the case, which was later filed in U.S. District Court.
“We are pleased that the court has dismissed matters brought forward by former employee Patrick Moers,” Henderson spokeswoman Kathleen Richards said in a statement. “We have always maintained that the allegations he made were without merit.”
Neither Moers nor his lawyer could be reached for comment.
Moers was forced out of his post as Henderson’s top law enforcement official in 2017 after an investigation substantiated claims of inappropriate conduct. He has denied claims of sexual harassment and has alleged the outside law firm that investigated him was biased.
Former Deputy Chief Bobby Long, who did not file a lawsuit, was investigated for intimidating behavior and was forced to leave at the same time. He has also claimed the investigation was one-sided.
U.S. District Judge James Mahan tossed six of Moers’ seven claims because the former chief did not name the city as defendant in the case. The remaining claim was dismissed because Moers waived any claims against the city by signing a separation agreement.
Even if Moers had properly named the city in the case, the other six claims would have been thrown out because he signed the agreement, according to Thursday’s filing on the decision.
Reid said he was never worried about the claims against him, and that a lawyer should have told Moers the lawsuit was a waste of time and resources.
“A lawyer with any litigation experience should have known that this would be summarily dismissed,” Reid said.
Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.
