City Approves Peterson Litigation Agreement

During the Marquette City Board of Commissioner’s meeting tonight, the board went into a closed session to discuss the settlement of the Peterson litigation.

The Peterson VS. City of Marquette case is pending in the Marquette County Circuit Court. Gerald Peterson left his position as Marquette city manager in July, 2005. He received retiree health insurance benefits under a city plan until July 2006. At that time, the city determined that changes had been made in the retiree insurance plan by Peterson during his term. This resulted in former employees, including Peterson, receiving benefits although they did not meet the minimum qualification.

As a result insurance payments made on his behalf were terminated. Peterson filed a civil action to obtain restoration of the payment of his insurance benefits and damages. Tonight the board voted to approve the settlement agreement after a mediation session held June 29th.

The city has been working on settling this dispute for more than 7 years.

Posted by: Jordan Kelly

The closed session was necessary because the city commission says an open meeting would have a detrimental financial effect on the settlement position of the city.