Hamtramck mayor sues city council over city manager's firing
Hamtramck Mayor Adam Alharbi and the city council are facing yet another legal battle as Alharbi filed a lawsuit challenging the recent firing of City Manager Adel Al-Adlani.
Standing outside Hamtramck City Hall on Monday alongside attorney Nabih Ayad, Alharbi argued the council's decision to terminate Al-Adlani violated the city's charter and state law.
"An action of that magnitude at City Hall can't be taken last minute like that without providing sufficient justification. It's not how we should or will do business in City Hall," Alharbi said.
Last week, the Hamtramck City Council voted 4-2 to remove Al-Adlani from his position during a contentious public meeting.
Ayad said the council failed to properly place the termination vote on the meeting agenda within the timeframe required by law, calling it a violation of Michigan's Open Meetings Act and other legal requirements.
"So we have filed this morning (Monday) a complaint for injunctive relief… and seeking also an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order, stopping the decision of the city council members to throw out the city manager, Olschan, of the city charter in violation of the state constitution, in violation of the open meetings act," Ayad said.
The lawsuit seeks to overturn Al-Adlani's firing and to prevent the city from moving forward with the termination process as carried out.
"As you seen in the chaotic situation that happened in the city council meeting the other day, it was just an embarrassment," Ayad said.
The legal challenge is the latest controversy involving the Hamtramck city government, which has experienced significant turmoil over the past year.
Hamtramck has had four city managers in less than a year. Two city council members have been charged with election fraud. The former city clerk was fired and has since filed a lawsuit against the city. Former City Manager Max Garbarino is also suing after being terminated, and former Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri resigned as part of an agreement with the city after he was under investigation for alleged misconduct.
The city's recent mayoral election also drew scrutiny after 37 ballots were thrown out. Alharbi won the race by fewer votes than that margin.
Alharbi said the lawsuit is intended not only to reverse Al-Adlani's dismissal but also to prevent the city from facing another potential wrongful termination lawsuit.
"And we must follow our city charter and follow the open meeting act, and that's how it's gonna be," Alharbi said.
Hamtramck's city attorneys responded that they would file a motion for summary disposition and let the court decide it on the law.
The city attorney's office also released this statement:
The Complaint has serious facial defects: it skips an entire count, quotes from an employment contract it does not attach, mischaracterizes Council procedural rules as Charter provisions, and cites as authority a Court of Appeals decision that it acknowledges was reversed by the Michigan Supreme Court. We are confident in the City's position.
