Former Novato fire chief settles lawsuit against district board

Sept. 23--Novato's former fire chief has settled his 2013 fraud lawsuit against the fire district, receiving no money and giving the district back the house it loaned him money to buy, officials said.

Marc Revere agreed to dismiss his case and a pending appeal and will sign over the property at 21 Washington St. in Novato to the fire district. In exchange, the district will drop foreclosure proceedings against him, according to the settlement agreement.

After a closed session at a special board meeting concerning the lawsuit Monday night, the board and Riley Hurd, the district's attorney, emerged and Hurd announced the settlement.

"The district has settled the action with Marc Revere, who filed a claim alleging defamation, fraud, negligent misrepresentation and violation of the Firefighter Bill of Rights," Hurd said.

"The board is happy to continue to move forward and put this behind us," said Board Member Tomas Kaselionis after the meeting. "It's great that there is no monetary transfer."

Mark Quigley, Revere's attorney, did not respond to a call and email seeking comment.

Revere's initial complaint, filed in November 2013, alleged that board members falsely said he made expenditures in violation of district policy and misused public funds. The complaint didn't ask for a specific amount, but Mark Quigley, Revere's attorney, at that time told the Independent Journal the case was worth "millions."

Under the settlement agreement signed by Revere Sept. 8, Revere will receive no money and will dismiss his case and the appeal "with prejudice," meaning that he can't try to sue again for the same reasons.

Each side will pay its own attorney's fees connected with the lawsuit. Hurd said the district's bill is covered by the district's insurance policy.

"One of the terms of the settlement is we will cease our foreclosure proceeding with Mr. Revere for the residence and he will simply deed the residence back to the district," Hurd said. "This is good timing for that, given that we are in a hot real estate market."

The district loaned Revere $695,875 on Sept. 1, 2006 to buy the house, according to the settlement documents. As part of the deal, Revere agreed to repay the entire amount six months after termination of his employment.

Revere left the district in November 2012 but did not repay the loan, which now stands at $670,322.

"Revere did make his payments for a number of years. The key number to me is the unpaid principal because that's the real money the district could have been out. That amount is $646,323," Hurd said.

According to real estate website Zillow, the house's estimated worth is $600,000.

Revere's lawsuit, filed in Marin Superior Court, came after a series of blowups in the district that culminated on Nov. 28, 2012, when the district board forced then-chief Revere "to choose between termination and retirement," according to the complaint.

In February 2013, in response to state Public Records Act requests filed by the Independent Journal, President Farhad Mansourian, Board Member Jim Galli and then-interim fire chief Ken Massucco, met with the newspaper's staff.

The officials said the chief misused his credit card privileges and approved hundreds of thousands of dollars of work without the district board's approval. Revere's lawsuit alleged these statements were slanderous and false.

The lawsuit also alleged that the board defamed Revere.

"In a hearing on May 6, 2014, a Marin County Superior Court judge struck down the defamation charges. In making the ruling, he said the plaintiff 'cannot establish a probability of prevailing on the merits,'" Hurd said.

"The ability to recover monetary damages was really the defamation claims, so having them struck down was a big victory for the district," Hurd said.

LJ Silverman, the board's president, was absent Monday. Board members Jim Galli and Worth "Skip" Fenner had no comment after the meeting. Board member Brad Beedle left as soon as the announcement was made and did not respond to a message seeking comment.

"The court's opinion and the settlement support the strong position taken by the fire district and the Board of Directors since the beginning of this legal action that the district and its directors did not do anything illegal and consistently acted in the best interest of our taxpayers," said Fire Chief Mark Heine. He added that the district "intends on selling Mr. Revere's house at the earliest opportunity."

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