Algonquin Township Road District attorney files motion to withdraw from Local 150 case

Attorney Robert Hanlon filed a motion on Tuesday to withdraw as legal counsel for the Algonquin Township Road District in a dispute with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150.

The motion cited an “irreconcilable difference” between Hanlon, the road district and Algonquin Township Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser.

Jerome Majewski, who aided Gasser and the road district in this case when Hanlon was unavailable because of a medical condition, also filed a motion Tuesday to withdraw.

“At the present time, counsel for the road district and [Algonquin Township] Highway Commissioner [Andrew] Gasser believes that he cannot in good faith represent the interests of the road district or commissioner Gasser,” according to Hanlon’s motion.

Should the motion be granted, it would not cause the delay of any trial nor prejudice any party to this matter as judgment has already been entered and only post-trial motions to address, according to the motion.

But according to an email sent Tuesday by Local 150 attorney Bryan Diemer obtained by the Northwest Herald, this may not be the only case Hanlon is withdrawing from.

Diemer said in the email – which went out to multiple Local 150 representatives and members, three of whom were fired by Gasser moments after he was sworn in as highway commissioner which prompted the two-year legal dispute – that Hanlon has sent notices to all the arbitrators saying he is withdrawing from all pending cases involving the road district.

One such case dates back to 2017 when Algonquin Township Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser sought a court order to restrain Algonquin Township Clerk Karen Lukasik, his predecessor Robert Miller and former township employee Anna May Miller from destroying any Algonquin Township or Algonquin Township Highway Department records, according to court documents.

Following numerous countersuits, the Algonquin Township board allowed its attorney, John Nelson, to begin negotiations toward a global settlement with all parties in the case.

Nelson said in a letter to Hanlon that his direction from the Algonquin Township board is to settle or dispose of this case to stop the unnecessary drain on the public treasure, specifically the “astronomic” amount of attorney’s fees.

“Please also note that the Algonquin Township attorney at the undersigned will look after the township’s legal interest,” Nelson said in his letter to Hanlon. “You would be well-served looking after you client’s interests which in my humble opinion are not running up your fees for claims that appear to be spurious and unnecessary.”