HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013 01_Miller Mediation Settlement Authority_2013.01.15OCity Wit out Limits.
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council
City of Owasso
FROM: Julie Trout Lombardi
City Attorney and General Counsel
SUBJECT: Mediation Settlement Authority in Rhonda Miller, Personal Representative of the
Estate of Walter Miller, vs. City of Owasso and Resolution 2013-01
DATE: January 11, 2013
BACKGROUND:
The Plaintiff's late husband, Walter Miller, died in an automobile accident on July 22, 2006, at the
intersection of 106th Street North and Memorial. The Owasso Police Department responded to
the accident and ultimately prepared a report determining that Walter Miller was at fault in the
accident. Rhonda Miller disagreed with the conclusions of the report and filed a lawsuit against
the driver of the other automobile in the accident as well as McGuire Brothers Construction, Inc.,
which had large construction equipment parked off-road near the intersection on the date of
the accident.
The City of Owasso was not named as a party in the initial legal action filed by Rhonda Miller
despite her objections to the accident report finding Walter Miller to be at fault. City staff and
several City Council members met with Mrs. Miller and/or her attorney both individually and as a
group on several occasions in an effort to provide information she requested and answer
questions about the accident. Rhonda Miller eventually filed a lawsuit against the City of
Owasso on November 1, 2010, alleging that emotional distress was intentionally inflicted upon
her by City staff. She contended that staff deliberately manipulated and withheld evidence
which prevented her from prevailing in her lawsuit against the other driver and McGuire Brothers
Construction, Inc.
Minimal action has occurred in this lawsuit since its filing on November 1, 2010, and the Court has
directed the parties to participate in mediation. Attorneys for Rhonda Miller and the City of
Owasso are in the process of scheduling mediation to be conducted by a mutually agreeable
mediation firm in Tulsa, OK, in the near future.
Mediation is quite similar to the procedures utilized in mandatory settlement conferences by the
federal court system in both process and requirements. As with settlement conferences, both
the Plaintiff and the Defendant must designate and authorize a representative to attend the
mediation on their behalf who is endowed with full, final and complete settlement authority. As
always, no party is compelled to agree to a settlement but a representative with full authority
must be present during the mediation.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council designate the City Manager, Rodney J. Ray, as the City's
authorized settlement representative for mediation in the litigation matter styled as Rhonda
Miller, Personal Representative of the Estate of Walter Miller, vs. City of Owasso, and additionally
confer full, final and complete settlement authority upon the City Manager in this legal action
through approval of Resolution 2013-01 memorializing the same.
ATTACHMENT:
Resolution 2013-01
OWASSO CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. 2013-01
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA,
DESIGNATING THE CITY MANAGER AS THE SETTLEMENT
REPRESENTATIVE FOR MEDIATION IN THE LITIGATION MATTER
STYLED RHONDA MILLER, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
ESTATE OF WALTER MILLER, vs. CITY OF OWASSO, CJ-2010-06989,
JUDGE LINDA G. MORRISSEY, AND ADDITIONALLY GRANTING FULL,
FINAL AND COMPLETE SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY IN THIS LITIGATION
MATTER TO THE CITY MANAGER.
WHEREAS: The City of Owasso is the Defendant in a legal action filed in the District
Court of Tulsa County captioned as Rhonda Miller, Personal Representative of the
Estate of Walter Miller, vs. City of Owasso, District Court of Tulsa County, Case No.
CJ-2010-06989, Judge Linda G. Morrissey, and,
WHEREAS: The parties to this litigation have agreed to mediate this matter and the
City of Owasso is required to bring an authorized settlement representative to the
mediation who possesses full, final and complete settlement authority to be used at his or
her discretion during mediation, and,
WHEREAS: The City of Owasso wishes to vest full, final and complete settlement
authority in the City Manager, Rodney J. Ray, and to additionally designate the City
Manager as the City's settlement representative for the mediation,
THE CITY COUNCIL HEREBY ADOPTS THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA, THAT: Rodney J. Ray, in his capacity as City
Manager, is hereby designated as the settlement representative for the City of Owasso for
purposes of mediation,
AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT: Rodney J. Ray is hereby vested with
full, final and complete settlement authority on behalf of the City of Owasso in the
above-styled litigation matter.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 15th day of January, 2013, by the City Council of
the City of Owasso, Oklahoma.
onebrake, Mayor
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Attest:
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Sherry Bisyop, City Cl
Approved As To Form:
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Julie T. Lombardi, City Attorney