Former New Castle County Chief Administrative Office David Grimaldi will get a jury trial on a portion of a wrongful discharge lawsuit.
Sussex County Superior Court Judge E. Scott Bradley ruled this week Grimaldi and his attorney David Finger can move forward with one count related. To Gordon allegedly defaming Grimaldi.
Gordon, according to the ruling, stated that Grimaldi was fired because he had attempted to fix a ticket during a stop in Elsmere. Grimaldi has denied the allegations.
Click here for other stories on the Grimaldi-Gordon battle
Other matters were dismissed, with one request seeking a severance package withdrawn by Grimaldi.
Grimaldi, who held the number two executive position in county government had a bitter falling out with Gordon over a variety of issues.
Among other things, Grimaldi questioned the qualifications and actions of a county manager, and former Gordon campaign worker who he believed was involved in a personal relationship with Gordon, the ruling noted. Grimaldi also questioned the hiring of a relative of a county management member.
Grimaldi, who had worked in the investment industry, helped guide the Gordon campaign to victory four years ago. Gordon is now seeking re-election.
He went on to deal with economic issues for the administration that included a small cap stock board of trade coming to Wilmington and expansion by JPMorgan Chase. Grimaldi ended up in a scrape with the County Council over county investment policies.
Gordon has continued to champion the board of trade, with Grimaldi questioning the county financing package for the enterprise that would be based in downtown Wilmington.
Following Grimaldi’s discharge, expletive-filled tapes of conversation between the two men were released to one media outlet.
Gordon was represented by a four-person legal team that includes Michael Kelly of McCarter & English, one of the state’s top litigators.
Finger, a third generation Delaware lawyer, has worked in a variety of areas including defamation, freedom of information and related First Amendment and media law disputes.
A link to the full ruling is below:
