Former NH Chief Claims Retaliation

Posted by: Curt Varone September 29, 2015 0

Today’s burning question: What happens if an employment related lawsuit is settled with neither side admitting wrongdoing and the employer promises not to retaliate against the employee, but two months after the settlement the employer fires the employee?

Answer: One option is for the employee to ask the court to re-open the previously settled suit. That is what happened in Chichester, New Hampshire recently when former fire chief Gilbert Vien asked Merrimack County Superior Court to reopen the wrongful termination suit he filed against the town of Chichester in 2010.

The case was settled in 2013 on the eve of trial with the town agreeing to pay Chief Vien $27,500 and stipulating it would not retaliate against him in his job with the town’s highway department. Chief Vien was fired from the highway department two months later.

The case is back in the news now as it is scheduled for trial in October. The town claims Chief Vien was fired for cause, while the chief’s attorney argues that the charges against him were dropped “due to lack of evidence.”

Here is more on the story.

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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