IT employee’s lawsuit against Warner Robins likely to transfer to federal court
The city of Warner Robins is seeking to have a lawsuit filed against it by an IT employee who alleges he was blamed and punished for a phony email decided in federal court.
An attorney for the city filed a notice Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Macon to have the lawsuit removed from Houston County Superior Court.
John Joseph Hildebrand III alleges he was falsely accused and punished for impersonating Telegraph reporter Wayne Crenshaw in an open records request emailed to the city in April 2015. The email requested information about the selection of Bill Harte over John Wagoner for the position of city clerk.
In the complaint, Hildebrand alleges that his due process rights under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution were violated.
The lawsuit also names as defendants Mayor Randy Toms and council members Tim Thomas, Chuck Shaheen, Keith Lauritsen, Clifford Holmes, Mike Davis and Carolyn Robbins.
Sharon P. Morgan, an Atlanta attorney representing the city, argues in the notice that the case should be transferred because the alleged violation is a federal question for which the federal court has original jurisdiction.
The notice essentially starts the process of moving the case from Houston County to the U.S. District Court.
Although the federal court will formally determine whether the move is proper, generally a case is transferred if there is a federal question such as a violation of due process rights.
If the federal court were to find that moving the case is not proper, it would be remanded back to Superior Court for consideration.
Hildebrand’s attorney Stan Martin said he wasn’t surprised by the notice. He declined to discuss the facts of the case.
Morgan also filed a motion in federal court later Tuesday to have the lawsuit in its entirety dismissed against the city.
Information from Telegraph archives were used in this report.
Becky Purser: 478-256-9559, @BecPurser
This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 3:18 PM with the headline "IT employee’s lawsuit against Warner Robins likely to transfer to federal court."