Wesley drops suits against city Wesley drops suits against city (August 22, 2003)

By Candice Shih

While the City of Mountain View is engaged in a legal battle with Clear Channel, another lawsuit has been dropped.

Gary Wesley, a local attorney, sued the city for approximately the seventh time in July 2002. He claimed that then-City Council member Ralph Faravelli no longer lived in the city, the city withheld public records, and the city did not hire an independent auditor.

Despite continuing to allege these charges and being sanctioned $1,200 in court, Wesley filed to dismiss the lawsuit. It was dropped on July 31.

In a letter sent to city attorneys the following day, he wrote, "... the purpose of the lawsuit, like others before, was to get the City and Council to comply with the law.

"To perform its duties and forestall another lawsuit, the City Council needs to understand the issues I have raised and act, without further delay, to ensure compliance with the law."

Although Wesley did not directly state why he dropped the lawsuit, he did add that it can be re-filed at any time.

"All these things were to see if he could get some kind of media reaction," said City Attorney Michael Martello. "He has nowhere to go with this. ... Where's the beef? There is nothing there."

Although Faravelli bought a house in the El Dorado Hills while he was a council member, he said he continued to live in Mountain View until his term ended in January. In addition, the city does hire an external auditor

While Wesley later dropped his claim against Faravelli, he added a charge to the lawsuit that the city's receipt of Shoreline Amphitheatre tickets is illegal.

Prior to dismissal of the case, Wesley was ordered on July 11 to pay $1,200 to the City of Mountain View by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Thang Barrett. Of that amount, $700 was for not submitting documents requested by the City and $500 was for walking out of a deposition in May.

"I was flabbergasted," recalled Mayor Mike Kasperzak, who attended the deposition. "In 11 years of legal practice, I never saw anyone walk out of a deposition and refuse to answer questions in background nature only."

Although Wesley did not return calls from the Voice, he sent a fax stating, "The fact that someone spoon-fed you the matter of $1,200 award and that you seem focused on that matter instead of the issues raised by the lawsuit and my August 1 letter suggests you are being manipulated.

"The job of a reporter is to question people in power -- not to attempt to harass citizens who raise issues of public concern."

What the public should be concerned about is Wesley's use of taxpayer money, said Kasperzak. "I think it is irresponsible, especially for someone who calls himself a council watchdog and someone who is there to protect the interests of the community."

Given Wesley's long history of suing the city, Kasperzak said he expects Wesley will strike again. Although courts can declare plaintiffs to be "vexacious litigators" and limit their rights to sue, Wesley does not qualify because he is sometimes the attorney and not the plaintiff, and because of the nature of his dismissals, he added.

"There's not a lot the city can do at this point to stop his constitutional right to file a lawsuit," said Kasperzak.

E-mail Candice Shih at cshih@mv-voice.com