During public comment at the Monday, September 9, Township Council meeting, an email was read from resident Stephen Gilberg asking for any details about the most recent filing made by Livingston Police Sgt. Kevin Mullaney, who is currently involved in a lawsuit against the Livingston Police Department. Mullaney’s complaint alleges a violation of the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act.
Township attorney Jarrid Kantor, in response to the comment, said that the township continues to deny the allegations made in the lawsuit. He noted that the latest claim set damages at $32 million. Under the state’s new OPRAlaws, however, that claim is unavailable to be reviewed by the public unless someone pays a nearly $600 special fee and waits several weeks for the records request to be fulfilled.
During the meeting, Kantor discussed the content of the tort claim.
“This is the most transparent money grab attempt I’ve seen, maligning our police department, who this Council supports and is doing a great job. Our firm has investigated the allegations and believe them all to be false,” Kantor said. “It’s laughable that the new tort claim puts damages at $32 million, just showing you how ridiculous the claim is and what a transparent attempt this is to money grab and extort money from the township in the worst way possible, by maligning good people, good officers, our chief of police, our Council, our township manager.And to think that a $32 million demand is going to scare this Council into settling or doing something like that is just ridiculous.”
Mullaney’s Attorney Responds Mullaney’s attorney, Yifat Schnur, responded to Kantor’s comments following the meeting.
“Kantor’s statements during the September 9 Town Council meeting are false and were purposely conveyed in a strategic fashion – lacking context in order to create a false perception about Sgt. Mullaney,” Schnur said. “The fact that the initial lawsuit required an amendment to address further post-filing harmful actions – followed by two separate notices of tort claims – says all you need to know regarding the manner in which the township is treating Sgt. Mullaney and defending this case.”
Schnur’s statement concluded, “We will continue to hold parties harming Sgt. Mullaney accountable, as they are not above the law. Those interested in an accurate update on this case are referred to the New Jersey Courts website, as the facts speak for themselves. Sgt. Mullaney intends on addressing Kantor’s actionable statements through the proper legal forums.”
While the tort claim has yet to be produced under the Open Public RecordsAct (OPRA), the request for it, and subsequent correspondence, is viewable on OPRA Machine, a document collection website. An OPRA request had been made by a “Gary Johnson” on August 13 asking for “All Tort Claim Notices filed against the Township of Livingston and its employees between August 1, 2024 and August 13, 2024.” Among the three tort claim notices filed during that time period was one on behalf of Mullaney. While the other two claims were provided, an August 28 response noted that the Mullaney one required a “special service charge” of $583.35 in order to be fulfilled. This was due to the “‘extraordinary’expenditure of time and effort required to review the 106 page document for exemptions.” The clerk’s department estimated the redactions would require 15 hours of work. Since the lowest hourly rate for a staff member capable of performing this task is $38.89 per hour, the total cost of the special charge was $583.35. Additionally, the department stated that it could commit one hour per day to this task, estimating that, if the special charge was paid, it would take three to four weeks to fulfill the request.
Since the township’s position is that this tort notice needs to be redacted before it may be shared publicly, it was not able to be read by the Tribune without paying $583.35 and waiting three to four weeks for the work to be completed. Under the recently changed OPRA laws, public record custodians are now permitted to charge heavy fees to release information.
According to public records, the case “Kevin Mullaney vs. Livingston Police Department,” was initially opened on March 29, 2023. Chief Gary Marshuetz, Captain John Drumm, Detective Sergeant Vincent Daly, Sergeant Derek Wyatt, Sergeant Michael Herbert, SergeantAngelo Vella, Detective David Cordero, and Livingston township manager Barry Lewis were all initially cited as defendants in the case, which was filed by Mullaney in Essex County Superior Court. The complaint cites defamation, unlawful retaliation, adverse employment actions, and negligent supervision as a result of Mullaney’s whistleblowing actions. The complaint additionally alleges that Mullaney shared repeated violations of laws, rules, and regulations within the department, which were not remedied.
