6 days ago
Isaiah Hugley's lawyer sends Columbus city attorney letter escalating lawsuit threat
Scott Grubman, attorney for former Columbus City Manager Isaiah Hugley, sent a letter Friday afternoon demanding that the city reinstate Hugley by June 6; otherwise, he will proceed with filing a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regarding Hugley's termination.
The Columbus Council voted 7-3 to fire Hugley on May 27, following the release of a Muscogee County Sheriff's Office administrative report about the investigation into the Columbus Consolidated Government's finance department and associated arrests.
Grubman sent the letter with his demands to Columbus City Attorney Clifton Fay and Deputy City Attorney Lucy Seftall. The letter was also addressed to attorney Leslie Harnett, who has been serving as personal counsel for Columbus Councilors Glenn Davis, Charmaine Crabb, Toyia Tucker, Joanne Cogle, Byron Hickey and John Anker after they received a cease-and-desist letter from Grubman in April.
The cease-and-desist was sent after Hickey questioned whether Hugley violated the city's code of ethics by not disclosing an almost $30,000 small business grant that his wife, state Rep. Carolyn Hugley (D-Columbus) received to the council. Hugley did disclose the grant application to Mayor Skip Henderson and Fay, who advised him to pass the application to his deputy city manager rather than handle it himself.
After Hugley was terminated, Grubman told the Ledger-Enquirer that he planned to file for Hugley to have a public hearing before the council by next Friday.
In the most recent letter sent to Fay, Sheftall and Hartnett, Grubman argues that Hugley's termination violated federal and state laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Leading up to the termination, Grubman argues that 'various racist, false, defamatory and down-right offensive remarks' about Hugley surfaced in the sheriff's administrative report, according to the letter.
He cites Crabb describing African American church leaders who spoke during the public agenda portion of previous council meetings as Hugley's 'little mafiosos' and alleging that Hugley engaged in discriminatory practices benefiting Black individuals who are members of historically Black sororities and fraternities.
'Less than two weeks after this interview report was released, and after Councilwoman Crabb was called out for this improper, racist behavior, including by Mr. Hugley through counsel, she introduced her unscheduled motion to terminate Mr. Hugley's employment after 40 years of employment with the City of Columbus, and 20 years as Columbus' first African American city manager,' Grubman said in the letter.
Grubman argued that Hickey was also biased against Hugley, repeating the allegation that Hickey was retaliating after the councilor attempted to intervene in a pending decision about a pay raise for his wife, who works for the Columbus Police Department.
'Based on these facts alone, it is clear that the stated reasons for Mr. Hugley's termination were nothing more than pretext for unlawful discrimination and retaliation,' Grubman said.
Along with demanding Hugley be reinstated as city manager, Grubman also argued that members of the council could be held personally liable for damages if their actions were done 'oppressively, maliciously, corruptly or without authority of law.'
He demanded Hugley be paid around $213,000 along with his reinstatement.
'If we do not hear from you by the close of business on Friday, June 6, 2025, we will assume you are not interested in resolving this matter and will proceed with filing a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),' Grubman said in the letter.
The city attorney and Hartnett have not responded to a request for comment before publishing.
