West Orange Town Council Ends Legal Feud With Mayor, Approves Settlement

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A long-running legal standoff between the mayor of West Orange and the town council has come to an end.

On Tuesday evening, the West Orange Town Council unanimously voted in favor of a settlement that resolves a lawsuit from Mayor Susan McCartney, which was filed in 2023.

The legal battle revolves around a dispute over the township attorney position. Prior to this year, Richard Trenk had represented the municipality since 1998. His supporters have included McCartney, who has issued multiple statements on Trenk’s behalf, pointing to his three decades of experience as an attorney.

However, some council members and residents have been growing increasingly critical of his track record advising the town on legal matters, including several important development projects.

An arm-wrestling match ensued in the courts, which has included arguments about a controversial tie-breaking vote from McCartney, and whether the council has the right to withhold payments to Trenk’s law firm.

• Read More: West Orange Mayor Sues Town Council; Trenk Saga Continues
• Read More: West Orange Mayor, Council Continue Standoff Over Town Attorney

In March 2024, an Essex County Superior Court judge granted a preliminary injunction in favor of McCartney, ruling that Trenk can remain the town attorney until the case is settled for good. He was allowed to bill the township for “all work necessary” in connection with the job.

In January, the saga took another turn when Trenk submitted his retirement as town attorney, pending the appointment of a replacement and a “reasonable transition in the best interests of the township.”

It wasn’t clear who Trenk’s replacement will be – until now.

On Tuesday, the council voted to approve a settlement agreement that ends the legal dispute with the mayor. Under the agreement, the town will pay Trenk’s law firm any outstanding legal fees and expenses that have been accrued, as well as any that take place before a full transition is made.

In addition to the settlement, the council approved four professional service contracts:

• Township Attorney – Mark Semeraro and Semeraro & Fahrney, LLC
• Assistant Township Attorney – Gregg Paster of Gregg F. Paster & Associates, LLC
• Redevelopment Counsel – Everett Johnson of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A.
• Business Administrator – Peter Smeraldo

During a discussion of the settlement, council president Joe Krakoviak said that litigation expenses have probably come to somewhere between $100,000 and $200,000, a number he called “outrageous and unacceptable.”

“But if we don’t settle this and we go to trial, go to more depositions, and then probably lose at the trial level and go to the appeal process, we are going to be spending tens of thousands of dollars more,” he added.

The mayor also commented on the end of the legal dispute.

“With the conclusion of litigation and the adoption of Resolution 242-25, the township looks forward to a smooth and seamless transition in its legal and administrative operations,” McCartney said.

Watch footage from the Oct. 28 meeting below, or view it online here (video is cued to the reading of the resolution).

• See Related: West Orange Mayor Appoints Herself Acting Business Administrator

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