OHIO SUPREME COURT Former Boardman patrolman wants job back, attorney says

The officer's firing involved a residency requirement.
By MICHELE C. HLADIK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Former Boardman patrolman Andre Leon wants his day in court to try to get his job back, a Cleveland attorney told the Ohio Supreme Court.
Atty. Brian Moriarty presented the case before the high court Tuesday.
Leon was fired in 2000 from the police department after he failed to meet department and township policy requiring him to live within the township.
Moriarty said Leon is entitled to take the case before a trial court because of errors when the matter was in arbitration.
"I think he got it wrong, plain and simple," Moriarty said.
Arbitrator's decision
The arbitrator of the case said there was no violation but still placed requirements on Leon including that he and his family move into the township within 60 days. He said the arbitrator also exceeded his authority with the "last chance agreement" imposed on his client.
"That's kind of unheard of," Moriarty said.
Several justices questioned whether Leon had the right to take individual legal action since he was a member of a union. Leon was a member of the Ohio Patrolman Benevolent Association and was represented by the group during the arbitration.
Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton questioned whether the case would open up doors for others to ignore agreements set up by the unions who represent them.
Moriarty disagreed.
"There has to be some kind of a case-by-case analysis," he said. "That's the only way to make sense of the statute [governing arbitrations]."
Justice Maureen O'Connor questioned whether Leon should have sued the union for breach of duty instead of the township.
Moriarty said the union represented him well during the arbitration, but was wrong in not challenging an "unacceptable" arbitration decision.
"This is an unusual circumstance," he said and added his client was between a rock and a hard place.
One argument
But Youngstown attorney James Messenger said Leon was adequately represented and the arbitrator's decision should stand.
"Everything that happened was derived from collective bargaining," Messenger said.
He argued that when an employee is represented by a union he or she gives up the right to bring on legal action.
"Where do you draw the line?," he asked.
Messenger represented the township before the high court.
According to court documents, the union agreed to the arbitration and did not wish to take the matter any further.
Messenger also pointed out the arbitration reinstated Leon as a police officer with the department and told him he would need to comply with the residency requirement within 60 days.
"He hasn't come back to this day," Messenger said.
Leon was also seeking back pay for work missed between the time he was fired and the completion of the arbitration.
Moriarty said he is hoping to take that issue before a trial court as well, but instead of the 11 months of back pay denied by the arbitrator, Leon would be seeking back pay for the total time he has been out of work.
Covering up address
Justice Stratton and other justices questioned whether the arbitrator may have denied the back pay because of the "duplicitousness" Leon showed by trying to cover up his true address.
According to Messenger, Leon signed an agreement when he was hired stating he would live within the township. Messenger said the agreement allows newly hired officers 15 months to move within the township.
Court documents filed by Messenger state Leon tried to cover up his true address by using a false address in Mahoning County when he actually lived in Trumbull County. The documents said he also set up a Boardman telephone service and had the calls forwarded to his actual address and registered to vote in Mahoning County.
"I think the issue is crystal clear," Messenger said.
The Supreme Court took the matter under advisement and could make a decision in the next few months.