Council to top city lawyer: Sever your ties
Lawsuit says Allen called activist a ‘pathetic little wheelboy’
The Detroit City Council is urging the city’s top lawyer to cut ties with an outside attorney accused of harassing an activist with a disability.
Members of city council passed a resolution voting 6 to 1 earlier this month urging Detroit
Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia not to extend or renew a contract with the Allen Brothers law firm, which provides legal services to the city’s law department. The move was in response to a lawsuit that accused one of the firm’s partners, James P. Allen, of sending derogatory emails to Charles Blackwell for being in a wheelchair.
Councilwoman Raquel Castañeda-López, who pushed the issue, said that she is also requesting investigations by the city’s Civil Rights, Inclusion and Opportunity Department and Inspector General to determine whether there would be grounds for debarment or sanctions against the firm. Council President Brenda Jones was the lone vote against the resolution to end the city’s future relationship with the law firm.
“You are terminating the work of everyone who works for that firm as opposed to punishing the person who made these statements,” Jones said at the council meeting.
City Council does not have the authority to terminate the contract, Castañeda-López said, but would have the power to approve any future agreements. The contract is set to expire in December 2023, according to a memo from Garcia’s deputy, Charles Raimi, to councilmembers.
Given City Council’s position, Garcia said it’s now unlikely Allen Brothers will have its
contract renewed, but indicated that the current contract will continue with other lawyers at the firm stepping up.
“Terminating the existing contract would punish an entire organization, that has done nothing to offend the City’s priorities, in order to penalize an individual member of the group,” Garcia, who used to co-own the firm, wrote in an email to the Free Press. Terminating the contract could also potentially cost the city tens of thousands of dollars, though that’s hard to calculate, Garcia added.
In an Oct. 14 memo to Castaneda-Lopez, Raimi said the remarks were “offensive and unacceptable” and that James Allen would not appear as counsel of record on city cases. Instead, another member of the firm would serve when needed, according to the memo.
Councilman James Tate said it is imperative to send a strong message.
“He’s the partner in the firm. Unfortunately, it will affect others and his statements, because he made those statements, (it) affects the other attorneys as well,” Tate said at the meeting.
Allen was accused of calling Blackwell a “pathetic little wheelboy” in an email exchange, according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Michigan. In the email exchange, according to the suit, Blackwell was ridiculed for a bullet that paralyzed him with Allen telling Blackwell to “sit down and stay down where that bullet justly put you, punk.” Details of the lawsuit were first reported by the Detroit Metro Times.
Blackwell’s attorney Tony Paris with Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice said the lawsuit is still in its early stages and has not begun discovery, which involves attorneys exchanging information or questions relevant to the lawsuit.
When reached by a reporter, Blackwell, 28, referred comment to his attorney, who could not be immediately reached. Blackwell was shot in the back as a bystander in a random drive-by, according to his lawsuit. The Farmington Hills resident works in the financial industry and describes himself as a government transparency activist who engages with local municipalities on social media and files FOIA requests with public bodies.
Prior to the exchange, Blackwell was blocked from Inkster’s police department Facebook page after posting about corruption allegations against the former parks and recreation director, who had resigned.
Blackwell attended city council meetings in both Inkster and Hamtramck, according to his suit. The Allen Brothers law firm legally represents both cities as their city attorney, according to the firm.
The controversial exchange was sparked when Blackwell filed Freedom of Information Act requests seeking details on the law firm’s contracts with Hamtramck.
When one of his FOIA requests was denied by Allen, Blackwell responded with a parody meme attaching the faces of Allen and his law partner, David Jones, to a woman’s body outside Detroit’s Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, the lawsuit alleges. But the email was not sent from an account listed under Blackwell’s name, rather one named “Susana Hamad,” according to the suit.
Allen told the Free Press he never believed he was responding to Blackwell but to a “fake” gmail account harassing him while “despicably using the name” of an Arab woman. Allen said he identifies as Arab and has been an activist for years “trying to make it possible for my fellow Arab Americans to participate in the public square with credibility.”
However, the lawsuit alleges Allen knew the emails were from Blackwell, based on responses related to his physical condition and the use of the names “Chuck” and “Chuckie” in some emails, which are “common nicknames for Charles.”
Allen also said his responses had nothing to do with Blackwell’s FOIA requests.
“Am I proud of the language I used? Absolutely not,” Allen said in an email. “Each of Mr. Blackwell’s FOIA’s that I had anything to do with was handled appropriately and with respect.”
“Mr. Blackwell has spent the last couple of years targeting my clients, the members of my law firm, me, and, I believe, members of my family for cruel, frightening and degrading harassment,” Allen said.
Allen issued an apology to the city for the “embarrassment this episode has caused,” according to the resolution. The firm’s contract had a value of $825,000 as of January.
Blackwell is seeking unspecified damages based on discrimination over his disability.
Mayor Mike Duggan could not be reached for comment about the issue this week.
Wayne County campaign finance records show that the Allen Brothers firm held a fundraiser for Duggan’s mayoral campaign in October 2013 at the law office. Duggan’s pre-primary statement also shows that James Allen, who donated to a number of candidates, also contributed $6,800 to the mayor’s campaign in 2014 and listed Allen Brothers PLLC as his employer.
Garcia has also listed himself as a former coowner of the Allen Brothers firm from 2005 to 2010, according to his resume on the city’s website.
Garcia did not immediately return a request for details about his past ownership and the type of services the law firm now provides for the city.
Garcia on Wednesday announced he will leave his role with the city to pursue a position with the Miller Canfield law firm as senior counsel. Duggan said in a statement that Raimi will serve as interim Corporation Counsel until the mayor nominates a candidate.