The state's highest court won't hear an appeal in former Macungie Mayor Rick Hoffman's dispute with the borough and its police department, which means the lengthy and costly legal battle could be nearing an end.
The Supreme Court on Thursday denied appeal petitions filed by both Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin and Hoffman, court records show. Hoffman moved out of the borough last month and has since been replaced.
Hoffman attorney Jeffrey Dimmich declared it a "complete victory" for his client. Hoffman had appealed to the state Supreme Court, partly in an attempt to recover some of his mounting legal fees in the case. The case cost the borough and Hoffman each in excess of $100,000.
"We will now have to wait until the order is final and then the issue of attorney fees for Hoffman will be handled by [Lehigh County Judge Michele A. Varricchio]," Dimmich said
Commonwealth Court judges remanded to Lehigh County Court the issue of attorney fees and claims against the borough. Varricchio will decide on that issue.
Martin said he was disappointed the Supreme Court didn't consider the case.
"I think it's bad public policy to have a mayor without any law enforcement training insinuating himself into the operations [of a police force]," he said.
"We knew it was a long shot," he added of the appeal. "We took it and they decided it and that's their prerogative."
The Supreme Court filings came after a Commonwealth Court ruling in January that upheld a series of decisions by Varricchio, who ruled that the mayor is the chief law enforcement officer of the borough and is entitled to unrestricted access to the police station and its files.
Martin, who intervened in the case between the borough and mayor, asked for a clarification of the Commonwealth Court ruling. He said a portion of the decision related to information the mayor is entitled to see was "confusing and in need of clarification." Martin has argued that a mayor should not be entitled to see information related to undercover investigations or intelligence information.
Dimmich claimed in a court filing that Hoffman should be entitled to more than $4,000 that Borough Code allows him to receive from the borough in legal cases that pit him against Borough Council.
Dimmich also claimed that the dispute was "self-created" by council.
All of the court filings stem from a legal battle that began in 2010, shortly after Hoffman took office.
Hoffman filed a lawsuit against the borough and police department, claiming they were interfering with his authority under state law to be head of the department. Police Chief Edward Harry Jr. denied some of that access, in part because of comments Hoffman allegedly made before he was elected.
Police officers have said Hoffman commented that he was going to "get" the officer who arrested his son, Jason, on a drunken driving charge in 2009, a claim the mayor has denied.
Hoffman, before his move to Virginia, had said he was willing to come back to Pennsylvania to continue to fight the case if necessary.
He resigned in late June after selling his borough home, saying after announcing that he was leaving town that he endured a "miserable three years" as Macungie's mayor.
This week, council named his replacement, tapping Democrat Gary Cordner as interim mayor. Cordner will serve the remainder of Hoffman's four-year term, which expires at the end of the year.
Cordner and Republican Ronald Conrad are seeking a four-year seat in the November election. The winner will take over in January.
patrick.lester@mcall.com
610-820-6764
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