STONE HARBOR – Former Stone Harbor Business Administrator Robert Smith has sued the borough over his firing, alleging that it was done in retaliation for his attempts to get two members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment to file required financial disclosures.
The lawsuit was filed in Superior Court Monday, Oct. 2, under the Conscientious Employer Protection Act, which protects employees from adverse action because they objected to something they reasonably believed violated the law.
Smith also claims that the borough’s action was a breach of contract. The lawsuit says that he was never put on notice for any employment deficiencies. His employment contract ran through Dec. 31, 2024.
He was removed from his position by a 5-1 vote of the borough council in a public meeting Feb. 9. No explanation for the action was given at the meeting.
The borough’s reply to the lawsuit says that Smith was an at-will employee who served at the pleasure of the governing body and who was terminated in accordance with his contract. It also says that Stone Harbor had an objective basis for terminating Smith “which was free from any retaliatory intent or purpose.”
Smith’s lawsuit follows his filing in May of a tort claim against the borough for $1.2 million in damages and attorney fees.
He said in that claim that he was a whistleblower who was terminated by the council at the urging of Councilwoman Jennifer Gensemer as retaliation for his efforts to get her husband, Harry “Jack” Gensemer, a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, to file his annually required financial disclosure form that was due in April 2022. It was filed seven months later.
Smith’s October lawsuit lists many of the same damages that were enumerated in his May tort claim. He seeks back and forward pay and benefits, pension benefits, and compensatory and punitive damages. He also asks for attorney fees and expenses.
No dollar value is attached to the damages claimed in the October complaint. In the May tort claim, the preliminary dollar values attached came to $1.2 million.
Smith’s complaint asks for a jury trial. In its reply to the complaint, Stone Harbor also asks for a trial by jury.
On Aug. 29, former Borough Clerk Kimberly Stevenson also filed a tort claim against the borough, alleging sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. Stevenson said that she was “effectively removed from her position as borough clerk” through the actions of Business Administrator Manny Parada, who was selected by the council as the replacement for Smith. She also lists Gensemer as one of the “public entity parties causing injury.”
Parada has made a personal statement rejecting Stevenson’s claim concerning his behavior.
There is no publicly available information on the status of Stevenson’s tort claim against the borough, which she valued at $800,000.
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
