West Orange Council Takes New Vote On Town Attorney Lawsuit

WEST ORANGE, NJ — An ongoing controversy over the town attorney position in West Orange continued at this week’s council meeting.

For the past year, West Orange’s municipal government has been embroiled in a legal battle surrounding Richard Trenk, who has been serving as the town attorney despite the absence of a work contract and a "no support" resolution from the council. See Related: Lawsuit Over West Orange Town Attorney Continues

The standoff has spurred an ongoing lawsuit between Mayor Susan McCartney – who is in Trenk’s corner – and some members of the West Orange Town Council, who say that the longtime litigator and his law firm shouldn’t be getting payments from the township until the matter is sorted out. See Related: West Orange Council Rebuffs Mayor's Attempt To Squash Lawsuit

On Tuesday, the council voted on a resolution that would have required the law firms involved on both sides of the case to formulate budgets and pin down their cost estimates for bringing the legal dispute to a conclusion (read it online here).

According to the resolution, the township council has expended about $65,000 in connection with the litigation over the last eight months, and the mayor’s attorney approximately $10,000 over the same period.

“There is no end in sight to the present litigation,” the resolution claims.

Prior to the vote, council president Bill Rutherford questioned the accuracy of some of the figures in the resolution as well as its language, alleging that it is “embedded with politics.”

“I just want to remind everybody that we are in this litigation because the mayor sued the town council,” he added.

The resolution failed to clear a vote from the council. Michelle Casalino and Tammy Williams voted yes. Susan Scarpa and Rutherford voted no. Asmeret Ghebremicael was absent from the meeting.

Watch video footage of the April 9 meeting below (cued to the discussion and vote on Resolution 124-24).

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