UPDATE: City to ‘Vigorously’ Defend Lawsuit

The city of Lakewood is ready to “vigorously” defend a lawsuit after a former instructor at filed a complaint against the city as well as Ice Land USA.

The lawsuit, filed by Patryk Szalasny in US District Court in Cleveland last week, claims — among other charges — that he was wrongfully terminated from his positions as an ice-skating instructor.

Szalasny and his wife, Jessica Szalasny, were asked by Winterhurst general manager Mike Shockley not to return to the ice arena in July 2011, according to correspondence between their attorney, the city of Lakewood and Ice Land USA. 

The letters were obtained through a public records request.

Shockley cited a conflict of interest, after the Szalasnys promoted their lessons at other facilities.

The complaint contends that Szalasny was wrongfully terminated.

Last month, in letters to the city and the ice arena, Richard Panza — Patryk Szalasny’s attorney — asked that both teachers be reinstated to their positions.

In a response, the said that the city doesn’t oversee the arena — or the company Ice Land USA that manages it.

The city hasn’t managed the facility since 2008.

After reading the complaint on Monday, Lakewood Law Director had this to say in a prepared statement:

The city doesn’t and hasn’t ever acted in concert with our tenant to run Winterhurst. The tenant, which is not our agent, runs the rink entirely within its discretion. We don’t do any hiring, firing or ice rental. Our lease agreement makes us responsible for certain types of repairs there, but we do not make decisions related to rink operations. We have no idea who Mr. Szalasny is and we don’t have anything to do with his dispute over teaching at the rink. As with all cases that we believe are groundless, we’ll defend the city vigorously.

The city of Brooklyn was also named in the suit.