Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
HARTline whistleblower lawsuit reinstated
By BILL VARIAN
Published March 15, 2005
TAMPA - A former employee of Hillsborough's transit agency who claims he was fired for reporting financial wrongdoing has had his whistleblower lawsuit reinstated.
Circuit Judge Perry Little last May dismissed the lawsuit that was brought by former Hillsborough Area Regional Transit employee John Dausman more than a year ago, ruling that Dausman had filed it under the wrong whistleblower statute.
A statute of limitations deadline came and went, preventing Dausman from refiling the lawsuit under the proper statute.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal on Friday unanimously ruled the error to be a technicality. Because the general claims had not changed, Little should have allowed Dausman to refile the lawsuit under the right law, regardless of the statute of limitations.
"We were perplexed when Judge Little didn't allow us to amend the complaint," said Dausman's attorney, David Linesch. "Thank goodness for the appellate courts because we're back in the game."
Dausman claims he was fired from HARTline in August 2003 for reporting what he characterizes as a series of financial irregularities relating to the city's streetcar. He has said a maintenance contract for the streetcar line was not properly put to bid and, after he raised the issue, it was properly bid and resulted in savings.
He also claimed that HARTline employees improperly sat on invoices detailing money due to the city of Tampa and that money meant for buses was spent on the streetcar.
HARTline has repeatedly denied the claims, saying Dausman was fired for improperly touching a co-worker, which he denies.
Dausman's claims prompted some Hillsborough commissioners to turn up the political heat on the agency and its former executive director, Sharon Dent, a frequent target of their criticism. Dent announced last May that she would not seek a contract renewal this year and has since left HARTline.
The agency continues to deny Dausman's claims, which now go back to square one in the lower court.
"Mr. Dausman was terminated for cause," said HARTline spokesman Ed Crawford. "Oftentimes when people are terminated, they look for something or someone else to blame. We think this was a case of that. We're fully prepared to move forward."
[Last modified March 15, 2005, 01:06:08]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
