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Source: The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.迷你倉庫July 16--JERSEYVILLE -- Of the two lawsuits filed by local business owners against the city, one has been dismissed and the other is moving forward slowly after an abrupt break in the discovery process being conducted by the plaintiff's counsel.The lawsuits, filed by Robert M. Higgins, Cliff Coats, Kenneth Isringhausen, Tim Kuebrich and Tamara Sutton, allege officials have manipulated various ordinances in order to issue citations and levy fines relating to height of grass or weeds and accumulation of junk and trash on their properties."My clients are still experiencing ordinance violations, and they're still being targeted, if you will," said Springfield attorney Tom Kelty, who is representing the plaintiffs. "But one case involving an ordinance violation filed against Ken Isringhausen went to trial, and the court ruled in favor of Mr. Isringhausen."The court found there was no basis within the city code for the ordinance violation that was alleged in the complaint against Isringhausen."Jerseyville Mayor Richard Perdun has a different interpretation of the events that have transpired over the last several years."These people are guilty of a series of ordinance violations and this filing of a frivolous lawsuit is a way of retaliating against us," Perdun said.Filed on May 25, 2012, the first suit hinges on alleged violations of the Freedom of Information Act. The plaintiffs -- Higgins, Coats, Isringhausen, Kuebrich and Sutton -- filed the complaint for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against Richard Perdun, in his capacity as mayor of the city of Jerseyville, as well as the city.On the plaintiffs' behalf, Kelty requested copies of all ordinance violation notices for the period from Jan. 1, 2009, through Dec. 20, 2011, along with copies of the records of all fines imposed and collected, among other documents, on Dec. 21, 2011.In the suit, Kelty asserts the plaintiffs' rights to file suit because they were unable to obtain copies of public records from a public body with the usage of FOIA requests, and that the city did not have a FOIA officer in place, as required by state statute."The one pending count claims that we didn't have a FOIA officer, but our City Clerk Cathie Ward has always been ours," Perdun said. "She's been certified through the Attorney General's Office, so we're hoping this count will be found unmerited also."As part of the routine discovery process, Kelty began to take the deposition of City Treasurer Diane Heitzig on May 22, "when issues arose and the deposition was recessed," Kelty said.During the deposition, Kelty said he wanted to substantiate Heitzig's duties, along with her knowledge of financial documents."These documents were what we were originally requesting, and it 儲存eemed logical that she, as City Treasurer, would know where all the documents were, so they could be properly identified," he said. "In her sworn testimony, she knew nothing about the financial documents at all. Essentially, her explanation of her duties is that she attends most City Council meetings and signs checks to pay bills, which is pretty unusual for a City Treasurer."The deposition lasted less than 30 minutes before the city's attorney, Charles Pierce of Belleville, stopped the discovery process, contending the questions being asked by Kelty were irrelevant to the proceedings.On June 19, Meyer ruled that the parties were to complete depositions and should contact the court with dates for pre-trial and trial.Kelty completed Heitzig's deposition on July 9, as well as taking the deposition of City Clerk Cathie Ward, with the aim of discovering where documents are located and who understands them."We're looking for documents that weren't originally provided by attorney Jeff McDonald (with Wittman and Lorton of Jerseyville, the city's attorneys of record prior to being replaced by Pierce on Dec. 12, 2012) in the response to the original FOIA request," he said. "This is a step in the process."Kelty said he anticipates that any additional depositions would be taken within the next two weeks.The plaintiffs also had filed a second suit, a complaint for declaratory judgment, writ of mandamus and injunctive relief, against Perdun, in his capacity as mayor, and City Commissioners Yvonne Hartman, Bill Russell, Glenn Ketchum and Andy Macias on Nov. 5, 2012. This suit alleged violations of the Illinois Municipal Code, the Open Meetings Act and the Local Records Act.On Jan. 18, 2013, Macoupin County Circuit Judge Joshua Meyer granted a motion to consolidate both cases. Then, on March 1, Meyer dismissed the plaintiff's complaints outlined in the second suit for lack of standing and failure to bring a cause of action within 60 days of the alleged violation."Naturally, we're disappointed that the case was dismissed," Kelty said. "But this hasn't deterred my clients at all; they are still as committed for many reasons to seeing this thing through with the city."The court stipulated on April 25 that the suit alleging FOIA violations was still pending. On May 8, a protective order concerning disclosure of attorney fees was prepared by Kelty and entered by the court by agreement of the parties."I'm not sure what the next steps will be (after the depositions are completed), but generally we're moving towards a trial date," Kelty said. "We just don't have a trial date yet."kbassett@thetelegraph.comCopyright: ___ (c)2013 The Telegraph (Alton, Ill.) Visit The Telegraph (Alton, Ill.) at www.thetelegraph.com Distributed by MCT Information Services新蒲崗迷你倉