FORMER HART OFFICIAL FILES CLAIM FINANCE CHIEF SAYS DISTRICT DEFAMED HIM.Byline: CONNIE LLANOS llanos (yä`nōs), Spanish American term for prairies, specifically those of the Orinoco River basin of N South America, in Venezuela and E Colombia. Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, -- The Hart school district's former finance chief has filed a claim against the district alleging wrongful termination wrongful termination n. a right of an employee to sue his/her employer for damages (loss of wage and "fringe" benefits, and, if against "public policy," for punitive damages). and defamation, and is seeking damages in excess of the $234,000 owed him in a contract buyout. Rory Livingston, former assistant superintendent Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was a rank used by police forces in the British Empire. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held by a European officer, most of whom joined the police at this rank. of business services for the William S. Hart Union High School District, said in his claim that the district is using him as a scapegoat as it deals with construction projects that have gone far over budget. Livingston hired a lawyer and sent his claim to the district Sept. 28. The district has until Nov. 13 to respond. Such claims, if not settled, typically precede lawsuits. Livingston, who was ousted in May after skyrocketing construction costs in the district reached a peak of nearly $43 million, said in the claim that he was wrongfully terminated and misrepresented. He is seeking undisclosed damages as well as the settlement reached when he resigned -- plus interest. Livingston was supposed to receive his settlement in 18 monthly installments of $13,000, but the district has withheld payment pending an audit that was completed earlier this week and is now being studied. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. his claim, Livingston was ``induced by misrepresentations and false pretenses False representations of material past or present facts, known by the wrongdoer to be false, and made with the intent to defraud a victim into passing title in property to the wrongdoer. to resign his employment.'' A copy of the claim was obtained Friday by the Daily News under the state public records act. ``The reasons cited for his requested resignation were false, pretextual and contrived for the purpose of shifting blame to him for construction cost overruns experienced by the district,'' according to the claim. A recent forensic audit revealed that Livingston's bookkeeping left questions about his sole oversight of the district's construction projects and related funding. The audit also revealed that under Livingston, the district combined construction projects and used developer fees outside the areas they were generated, both violations of state standards. Livingston is represented by attorney Lou Carpiac at Ferguson, Case, Paterson, and Cunningham LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol . Carpiac was unavailable Friday for comment. In his claim, Livingston said district officials informed him in July that they had suspended payment of the $234,000 settlement signed in May, ``pending further review by the district.'' District officials confirmed to the Daily News in various interviews that Livingston's payment was contingent on Adj. 1. contingent on - determined by conditions or circumstances that follow; "arms sales contingent on the approval of congress" contingent upon, dependant on, dependant upon, dependent on, dependent upon, depending on, contingent results of the audit, revealed at the Hart board meeting Wednesday night. connie.llanos@dailynews.com (661) 257-5254 |
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