Yahoo Movies Defamation lawsuit halted against Placentia and town's former mayor
The former chief administrative officer of Placentia has discontinued her defamation lawsuit against the town and a former mayor, just a month before it was scheduled to go to trial.
Charlotte Hickey had sued over public statements made in relation to her departure from the job as top bureaucrat inthe Avalon Peninsula town in 2018.
In court filings, Hickey said she resigned from the position on "terms mutually agreed between her and council."
But Hickey said then mayor Bernard Power announced in a public council meeting that she had been "terminated" from her employment.
Hickey contended that was a "clear" breach of contract.
In their joint statement of defence, Power and the town disagreed.
"The main thrust was to portray that the departure of the plaintiff was mutually agreeable, and this was done," their court filings noted.
Additionally, the town claimed that the word "termination" was found in the body of the contract, which Hickey "executed herself" and her lawyer approved, with no issues raised about that word at the time.
The town's defence noted Hickey sought $66,000 in damages and $3,000 for legal fees.
The lawsuit was filed in November 2018. It was initially scheduled to go to trial last September, before being rescheduled to February.
Hickey's lawyer filed a notice of discontinuance at Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court earlier this month.
In a statement emailed to CBC News, the town said "both parties agreed to discontinue" the case.
"No cash settlement or other terms were apart of the terms agreed upon," Placentia chief administrative officer Jonathan Galgay wrote.
"The town will not be making any further comment moving forward."
Hickey did not respond to an email sent to her lawyer by CBC News.
