Former Lexington CEO Imhoff Sues Library Board, Chairman Over Breach of Contract
By Norman Oder Jul 16, 2010Former Lexington Public Library (LPL), KY, CEO Kathleen Imhoff, who on July 15, 2009, was dismissed without cause but after significant local controversy, has sued the library board and its former chairman for breach of contract, lost career opportunities, and defamation.
The suit [PDF], saying that she is owed the final two years of her (second) four-year contract and asserting that the cloud over her tenure has precluded her from getting an interview for a new job, despite applications to more than 17 libraries.
While the lawsuit requests payment of the rest of Imhoff's contract ($137,035 a year), it also requests compensatory damages of $1 million for lost wages in her ongoing career and $1 million for gender discrimination, plus $3 million in punitive damages for defamation.
The lawsuit charges Larry Smith, board chairman at the time of Imhoff's dismissal, for making comments that "wrongfully and erroneously imputed fraud, dishonesty, or sharp unethical practices to Imhoff."
Her contract, Imhoff told LJ last December, was supposed to require the board to give her 30 days to correct problems, but they didn't do so.
LPL response
According to a spokesman, LPL has no official comment on the lawsuit, but Smith, the outgoing board chairman, this week told the Lexington Herald-Leader, "I'm confident that Ms. Imhoff was neither defamed nor discriminated against. I'm confident that the board was entitled to terminate her as it did. I'm confident that she is not entitled to any damages."
Unexplained is why, if Imhoff was not dismissed for cause, the rest of her contract was not honored. Imhoff and the library held a mediation session in February, as she had requested, but it did not lead to a resolution and Imhoff was unable to get the remaining salary from her contract. "I'm still willing to negotiate with them," Imhoff told LJ.
The lawsuit charges Smith with making public statements at the time of Imhoff's firing "that an ongoing City audit of library finances and computer usage may reveal a basis for the termination of Imhoff's employment." It states that the board had already told Imhoff that an independent audit of library finances revealed no wrongdoing on her part.
"I truly regret that the matter was not resolved out of Court and want everyone to know that I did everything possible to avoid filing litigation," Imhoff wrote today on her blog.
Spending issues
When Imhoff was fired, as LJ reported, she criticized the Herald-Leader for producing a special report that focused on more than $133,000 charged to Imhoff's credit card over five years--expenses that Imhoff says were legitimate, such as moving costs that were part of her contract.
If certain expenses that were part of her contract or charged as a convenience were deducted, such as for staff recognition (which the newspaper classified as "gifts"), her expenses would average $12,578 a year, she said.
In response to the initial press coverage, the library instituted new credit card procedures, requiring cardholders to pay bills themselves and present receipts for review.
According to the lawsuit, Imhoff's spending was approved by the board and its then-chairman, Burgess Carey. (Carey and his vice-chairman were replaced by the city mayor shortly before Imhoff was fired.)
City audit
Last December, a city audit identified $32,679 in "questionable expenditures," which both Imhoff and Smith told LJ last December were defensible.
Imhoff, for example, said that "expensive" meal purchases for board members and staff at American Library Association conferences were instead group charges placed on her card.
The audit, which included responses from the board but not from Imhoff (who provided detailed responses on her blog), also called for changes, such as limits on library funds for travel, meals, and entertainment.
Imhoff was also criticized for some expensive meals with a library architect. The Herald-Leader has referred to her spending "on expenses such as trips to Europe and Africa"; Imhoff on her blog has pointed out that travel to International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) conferences was encouraged by the library.
The board, according to the lawsuit, did not consult with Imhoff regarding its responses to the city audit and instead provided incomplete responses, which meant the final report "contained substantial errors and factual omissions that wrongly and erroneously imputed fraud, dishonesty, or sharp unethical practices to Imhoff or impugned her competency or integrity."
According to the lawsuit, that created "arguments that grounds existed to terminate Imhoff for cause."
And though Imhoff prepared a memorandum in response, the library board did not correct what she saw as errors and omissions in the report. The lawsuit also notes that the library's own auditor did not express any concerns, despite the city audit.
One headline-making element of the city audit involved adult materials found on Imhoff's laptop; she said she had not accessed them but acknowledged that she should not have left it on at home when workmen were visiting.
Discrimination?
The board has stated that it has no further obligation to Imhoff after a 30-day period of paid administrative leave-even though the previous Executive Director had received full pay and benefits even after he "relinquished his duties" before the end of his term, according to the lawsuit.
That was Ronald Steensland, who, according to press reports, had served a quarter-century before retiring. According to the lawsuit, that's part of a pattern of gender discrimination, including severance payments to a former male manager accused to sexual harassment.
Imhoff also may pursue a separate job discrimination lawsuit, having received a "right to sue" letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Director search
A permanent successor to Imhoff has not been hired. The library's first choice this past winter declined the job offer, so the search was reopened.
Six semifinalists will be interviewed shortly, and three finalists will be chosen. An offer is expected sometime in August, according to library spokesman Doug Tattershall.
