U City's City Attorney Named in Ellisville Mayor's Suit

A little more than a week after being removed from office on charges that he abused his authority, Ellisville’s former Mayor Adam Paul stood before a new city council and announced he had launched a pair of lawsuits.

Paul made his remarks during the public comment portion of a meeting Wednesday and struck a defiant tone, promising that he would return to office.

“It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” he said.

He also used the time to explain the nature of the lawsuits he had brought. The first is directed individually at Councilman Matt Pirrello, City Manager Kevin Bookout, City Attorney Paul Martin and Ellisvile resident Katie James and seeks damages for defamation to his character.

See our previous story: City Attorney Explains Role in Ellisville Impeachment

The resolution calling for his removal initially included allegations that he consumed alcohol on the job, although they were later dropped.

“I come here today in a sort of sadness,” he said, later adding “I never wanted to get to this point … it’s terrible when someone says you are a ‘disgusting human being’ and I’ve gotten that for the last two months.”

Paul said the lawsuit is claiming monetary damages in excess of $25,000, but the final amount would ultimate be decided by a judge if the case goes in Paul’s favor.

The second legal action is a suit calling for Paul’s reinstatement as mayor. Previous attempts by Paul’s lawyer to stop the impeachment proceedings were each blocked by a St. Louis Circuit Court judge.

More details on the suits will likely be forthcoming, as Paul said he would share the legal documents with Patch and other members of the media.

(You can view the complete defamation lawsuit in the PDF attached to this article.)

Afterwards, Pirrello said he no comment on the issue other than to say that the lawsuit against him was no surprise, noting that Paul and his lawyer, Chet Pleban, had made public threats to do so if Paul was removed.

“They made it perfectly clear that they had full intentions of suing everybody for every reason they could find," he said.