The city of Wichita Falls is trying to get a lawsuit filed by a former department head thrown out.
The city wants an age discrimination suit filed by John Burrus dismissed, claiming it was served on the wrong person.
The filing on Nov. 18 claims Burrus’ suit was delivered to City Attorney Kinley Hegglund and contends he is not authorized to receive it.
The response filed by Deputy City Attorney Julia M. Vasquez claims the suit must be served on the mayor, city clerk, city secretary or treasurer.
“Because the Plaintiff did not comply with federal or Texas requirements for serving a municipality, service is legally insufficient and must be quashed,” the motion says.
Burrus, 61, is former director of aviation, traffic and transportation. In his lawsuit filed in federal court on Oct. 28,, Burrus claims he was terminated after 35 years and replaced by two younger men, Blake Jurecek, 51, and James McKechnie, 42.
The city said Burrus resigned.
The city’s website lists Jurecek as assistant city manager and McKechnie as deputy city manager.
Burrus claimed he received no disciplinary action or warning before he was fired from his $158,000 job and had performance appraisals that showed he was meeting or exceeding the city’s expectations.
He told the Times Record News in April he was forced out of his job to keep him from applying for the city manager job, which was open at the time, or revealing what he saw as wrongdoing in city government.
Burrus alleged instances of hostile work environment, theft, expense-paid vacations connected to city purchases and moonshine sales at the city’s airport.
The city denied Burrus’ allegations in its response to TRN.
In his lawsuit, Burrus said the city fired him for reasons that were “entirely pretextual, because the events relied upon occurred years earlier and were never the subject of either discipline or concern regarding [Burrus’s] job performance.”
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: City wants John Burrus’ lawsuit tossed on a technicality
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
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