Lawyer sues city of Elyria, former boss

An Elyria lawyer is suing the city and his former boss over the circumstances of his firing as a prosecutor in August 2016.

A complaint filed July 21 in United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division by plaintiff Matthew A. Mishak names Elyria Law Director Scott F. Serazin, both in his individual and official capacity, as well as the city of Elyria as defendants. Serazin has denied the allegations. According to the complaint, Mishak and Serazin worked together at the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office from 2006 to 2011, during which time

they became friends due to the close proximity of their offices.

They also bonded over attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which Mishak has and Serazin’s son had been diagnosed with, the suit says.

Serazin ran for the post of Elyria law director in 2010, bringing Mishak on to manage the campaign.

After Serazin won, he appointed Mishak to the salaried post of chief prosecutor for the city in 2012, according to the filing.

Serazin also “caused” Mishak to seek the position of prosecutor of the village of Grafton in 2012, which was previously held by Mishak’s predecessor for many years, the filing says.

The complaint alleges things changed between Mishak and Serazin in 2013.

It claims Mishak was placed under more intense scrutiny than other staff attorneys and Serazin “became verbally abusive” by belittling Mishak and criticizing behaviors related to Mishak’s ADHD.

According to the filing, Serazin “improperly disclosed to the local press” that Mishak was under an ethics investigation by the Lorain County Bar Association in mid-2013.

By December of that year, Serazin had demoted Mishak from chief prosecutor to prosecutor; cutting his pay, “significantly” modifying his job responsibilities and removing him from his assigned courtroom to “float,” the filing says.

Serazin circulated a memo in May 2014 outlining a policy guiding the representation of non Elyria cases; saying they must be tried on the attorneys’ personal

time and that personal or sick time be used in cases where they must use work hours, the suit says.

In July 2015, Serazin placed a letter of reprimand in Mishak’s personnel file for failing to file a notice of appearance, according to the suit.

The filing characterizes the letter as “criticizing Mishak’s honesty, integrity, respect for the law and accusing Mishak of ‘terrorist’ affiliations.”

Serazin and Mishak met, along with Serazin’s chief of staff, July 22, 2016, to discuss Mishak’s termination for double dipping by billing both Elyria and Grafton for the same hours, the filing says.

Mishak was placed on paid suspension and Serazin formalized the suspension in an 11-page letter detailing a number of reasons for the disciplinary action, according to the filing.

Mishak was fired Aug. 2, 2016.

Two days later, Serazin granted an interview in which he said Mishak was “fired for stealing from the city of Elyria and that an investigation was ongoing,” the filing says.

Serazin provided copies of the suspension letter and Mishak’s termination letter to the media, the suit says.

(The lawsuit claims Mishak had not been served with a copy of the termination letter yet, and only learned of it when he was contacted for comment).

According to the filing, both letters contained false information, which was published on the front page of a local newspaper Aug. 5, according to the suit.

The lawsuit alleges Serazin also contacted the village of Grafton and offered his office to handle the prosecutorial duties for the village, which led to Mishak’s firing from that position as

well.

The suit claims Serazin defamed Mishak by making libelous and slanderous statements to the newspaper, the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office, the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office and various unknown parties.

The filing also makes a case for eight other causes of action including: an invasion of privacy by Serazin placing Mishak before the public in a false light, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, reprisal for engaging in protected activity, hostile and abusive work environment, failure to provide a reasonable accommodation, interference with rights and loss of employment protected under Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In a phone call with The Morning Journal, Serazin denied the allegations against him and the city.

“I have a specific policy dealing with time dedicated to non Elyria representation,” he said. “I told them to use their time off and (Mishak) did not and the other allegations are untrue also.”

Serazin said he did not believe, or he didn’t know, whether Mishak sought special accommodations for his ADHD.

“ADHD is a very broad, general condition and it doesn’t necessarily mean you are disabled,” he said. “It would have been illegal for me to ask about that condition.”

Serazin said he has retained private counsel and the city has turned the case over to their insurance counsel.

The lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount of economic and non economic damages, declaratory relief against unconstitutional acts as well as attorney fees and court costs.