94-1024 r C ouncil File # 9/ /tea y
O RIGINAL Green Sheet # 22416
RESOLUTION
11 SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA
1
Presented By
Referred To Committee: Date
1 WHERE A , _ - • on 5.02 of the Saint Paul City Charter and Section 3.04 of the
2 Administrative Code authorize the City Council, upon request of the City Attorney, to
3 appoint special counsel and provide compensation therefor in cases of conflict or of
4 special circumstances; and
5
6 WHEREAS, on June 8, 1994, a Summons and Complaint entitled Diana
7 Wettengel, Plaintiff vs. Michael A. Kveene and the City of St. Paul. Defendants was
8 served on the parties to this action; and
9
10 WHEREAS, Minn. Stat. §466.07 and the labor agreement with the St. Paul Police
11 Federation require the City of Saint Paul to defend and indemnify employees acting
12 within the scope and course of their duties and who are not guilty of misfeasance in
13 office, willful neglect of duty or bad faith; and
14
15 WHEREAS, the City of St. Paul has retained special prosecutor Thomas R.
16 Hughes to prosecute any criminal conduct arising out of the underlying events; and
17
18 WHEREAS, at this stage of the litigation there are insufficient facts to determine
19 if the allegations against Officer Kveene are accurate and whether the alleged conduct
20 was within the scope and course of his employment as a police officer for the City of
21 Saint Paul; and
22
23 WHEREAS, if, at the outset of this litigation the City Attorney were to represent
24 both Officer Kveene and the City of Saint Paul and the pre -trial discovery process later
25 establishes a conflict between Officer Kveene's legal position and that of the City of
26 Saint Paul, the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct would require the City
27 Attorney's Office to withdraw as legal counsel for both Officer Kveene and the City of
28 Saint Paul; and
29
30 WHEREAS, if the City Attorney were to jointly represent the City of Saint Paul
31 and Officer Kveene, a conflict of interest might exist; and
32
33 WHEREAS, if the City Attorney were to jointly represent the City of Saint Paul
34 and Officer Kveene, the City would be unable to advance certain defenses the City of
35 Saint Paul might have concerning the actions of Officer Kveene; and
36
37 WHEREAS, as a result of these unusual or special circumstances, the City
38 Attorney has requested the appointment of outside counsel to represent Officer Kveene
39 in this lawsuit; and
40
Kveene
41 WHEREAS, if outside counsel is appointed to represent Officer -Kr-ffly and at a
42 later date the pretrial discovery process establishes that plaintiff's allegations are wholly
( i
4
.—J dYfe y
5 1 without merit, the City Attorney's Office could assume Officer Kveene's defense and
2 terminate the services of outside counsel; and
G. 3
D 4 WHEREAS, if outside counsel is appointed to represent Officer Kveene and at a
5 later date the pretrial discovery process establishes that plaintiff's allegations are factual
X 6 and that the conduct alleged did, in fact, occur outside the scope and course of his
D 7 employment, or that Officer Kveene was guilty of misfeasance in office, willful neglect of
8 duty, or bad faith, the City of Saint Paul could request a determination from the court
9 whether the City of Saint Paul's statutory and contractual duty to defend and /or
10 indemnify should be terminated; now, therefore, be it
11
12 RESOLVED, that by virtue of the aforesaid circumstances, the law firm of
13 Jardine, Logan & O'Brien be retained to represent and defend Michael A. Kveene in
14 said litigation; and, be it
15
16 FURTHER RESOLVED, the defense will be directed by partner Pierre N.
17 Regnier, whose billing rate is $108.00 per hour, and such partners and associates at his
18 firm as he may request to assist him, at their regular hourly rate, but never in excess of
19 $108.00 per hour; and, be it
20
21 FURTHER RESOLVED, that the total fees shall not be in excess of reasonable
22 fees having reference to the appropriate provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct;
23 and, be it
24
25 FURTHER RESOLVED, that the firm of Jardine, Logan & O'Brien is
26 specifically not authorized to commence any action on behalf of Officer Kveene against
27 the plaintiff, including counterclaims and crossclaims; and, be it
28
29 FINALLY RESOLVED, that the City Attorney's Office will represent the City of
30 Saint Paul in this matter.
31
YeasNays Absent Requested by Department of:
Blakey EEEEE
Harris
Grimm ✓ City Attorney
Guerin _v—
Me
Thune V By: l.,� - �/` \ \-/' t w
G D
Y' J
Adopted by Council: D- e JUL I ;, Form Approved by City Attorney
Adopti• Certifies b .1 — Secretary By: t---1-.) )/ �� \ .. J. /�
By: _ e r Appr• ed Mayor for Submission to
Approved by a or: Da e :112 Coun i / ,
By:
- 1- L/ L �Z°
By: �-C ` "
Y: �,
9e"- %ay
DEPARTMENT/OFFICE/COUNCIL DATE INITIATED
City Attorney, 6/21/94 GREEN SHEET N °_ 2 2 41'6
CONTACT PERSON & PHONE 0 DEPARTMENT DIRECTORNITIALIL7N►TE 0 CITY COUNCIL INITIAUDATE —
Timothy'E.. Marx, 266-8710 I CITY ATTORNEY CITY CLERK
NUMBER FOR
MUST BE ON COUNCIL AGENDA BY (DATE) ROUTING p BUDGET DIRECTOR FIN. & MGT. SERVICES DIR.
ORDER co MAVOR (OR ASSISTANT)
•
TOTAL # OF SIGNATURE PAGES (CLIP ALL LOCATIONS FOR SIGNATURE) •
ACTION REQUESTED:
Approval of resolution to appoint outside counsel for Officer
Michael•A. Kveene in the case of Diana Wettengel v. Michael A.
gveene and T the City of St. Paul. O@fficcep� r Kveene is being suedd IQNS in
RECOMMEND App etie as a P1 ONi Bi E Z CONTRIfCTS A g L
NS R �'HE FO DUpEST:
PLANNI2ntliStil en t . Clvll SERVICE cos MMISKNr 1. Has this person/firm ever worked under a contract for this department?
_ CM COMMITTEE YES NO
2. Has this person/firm ever been a city employee?
— STAFF YES NO
— DISTRICT COURT 3. Does this person/firm possess a skit not normally possessed by any current city employee?
SUPPORTS WHICH COUNCIL OBJECTIVE? YES NO
Explain all yes answers on wares shoot and attach to preen sheet
INITIATING PROBLEM, ISSUE. OPPORTUNITY (Who, Whet. When. Where, Why):
The City is required to defend and indemnify employees for alleged
acts occurring during the scope and course of their duties. There
is not enough information available to determine whether the
allegations in this Complaint are accurate or that the alleged
conduct did in fact occur within the scope and course of City
employment. In addition, the City of St. Paul has retained a
special prosecutor to prosecute any crimes arising out of the
mommums kmamayilly e:O =III.. III vLdtzl (.0 FL=D=rve all availabl= defenses and
litigation options and to avoid any conflict of interest, it is
necessary to appoint outside counsel at this time to defend Michael
A. Kveene in this action.
Avoids conflict of interest for the City Attorney's Office.
DISADVANTAGES IF APPROVED: 1
Conflict of interest situation likely to occur preventing the City
Attorney's Office from representing the City in the lawsuit and
from advancing legal defenses on behalf of the City.
DISADVANTAGES IF NOT APPROVED:
TOTAL AMOUNT OF TRANSACTION $ un known COST /REVENUE BUDGETED (CIRCLE ONE) YES NO
FUNDING SOURCE General Government Amounts ACTIVITYNUMBER OQf174
FINANCIAL INFORMATION: (EXPLAIN) Outside Counsel
NOTE: COMPLETE DIRECTIONS ARE INCLUDED IN THE GREEN SHEET INSTRUCTIONAL
MANUAL AVAILABLE IN THE PURCHASING OFFICE (PHONE NO. 298- 4225).
ROUTING ORDER:
Below are correct routings for the five most frequent types of documents:
CONTRACTS (assumes authorized budget exists) COUNCIL RESOLUTION (Amend Budgets/Accept. Grants)
1. Outside Agency 1. Department Director
2. Department Director 2. City Attorney
3. City Attorney 3. Budget Director
4. Mayor (for contracts over $15,000) 4. Mayor /Assistant
5. Human Rights (for contracts over $50,000) 5. City Council
8. Finance and Management Services Director 6. Chief Accountant, Finance and Management Services
7. Finance Accounting
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS (Budget Revision) COUNCIL RESOLUTION (all others, and Ordinances)
1. Activity Manager 1. Department Director
2. Department Accountant 2. City Attorney
3. Department Director 3. Mayor Assistant
4. Budget Director 4. City Council
5. City Clerk
6. Chief Accountant, Finance and Management Services
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS (all others)
1. Department Director
2. City Attorney
3. Finance and Management Services Director
4. City Clerk
TOTAL NUMBER OF SIGNATURE PAGES
Indicate the #of pages on which signatures are required and paperclip or flag
each of these pages.
ACTION REQUESTED
Describe what the project/request seeks to accomplish in either chronologi-
cal order or order of importance, whichever is most appropriate for the
issue. Do not write complete sentences. Begin each item in your list with
a verb.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Complete if the Issue in question has been presented before any body, public
or private.
SUPPORTS WHICH COUNCIL OBJECTIVE?
Indicate which Council objective(s) your project/request supports by listing
the key word(s) (HOUSING, RECREATION, NEIGHBORHOODS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,
BUDGET, SEWER SEPARATION). (SEE COMPLETE LIST IN INSTRUCTIONAL MANUAL.)
PERSONAL SERVICE CONTRACTS:
This information will be used to determine the city's liability for workers compensation claims, taxes and proper civil service hiring rules.
INITIATING PROBLEM, ISSUE, OPPORTUNITY
Explain the situation or conditions that created a need for your project
or request.
ADVANTAGES IF APPROVED
Indicate whether this is simply an annual budget procedure required by law/
charter or whether there are specific ways in which the City of Saint Paul
and Its citizens will benefit from this project/action.
DISADVANTAGES IF APPROVED
What negative effects or major changes to existing or past processes might
this project/request produce If It is passed (e.g., traffic delays, noise,
tax Increases or assessments)? To Whom? When? For how long?
DISADVANTAGES IF NOT APPROVED
What will be the negative consequences if the promised action is not
approved? Inability to deliver service? Continued high traffic, noise,
accident rate? Loss of revenue?
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Although you must tailor the Information you provide here to the issue you
are addressing, in general you must answer two questions: How much is it
going to cost? Who is going to pay?