By Jeff Morganteen
Staff Writer Posted: 12/16/2008 02:42:45 AM EST
STAMFORD - After hearing a motion to dismiss the case, a judge Monday continued a lawsuit filed by the city against the fire marshal at Turn of River volunteer fire department.
Both parties must wait for the court to decide whether the case will be dropped. A judge has 120 days to issue a ruling.
Last month, the city sued Antonio Olive, the volunteer fire marshal appointed by the Turn of River department in July. The case calls for the defendant to prove he has authority, under state law, to serve as fire marshal in the Turn of River district, a 15-square-mile area in the northern half of the city.
The lawsuit's outcome will decide whether the volunteer Turn of River firehouse or the paid city fire department, Stamford Fire & Rescue, provides fire marshals in the district. Fire marshals investigate the cause of fires and inspect structures for fire code compliance.
Stamford Fire & Rescue Marshal Barry Callahan is also named as a plaintiff in the suit. The city claims that Callahan is the only legally appointed fire marshal in Stamford, and that the city is the only legal authority that can appoint marshals.
In state Superior Court, the attorney for Olive, Mark Kovack, asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the city lacks legal standing because it does not have jurisdiction over the Turn of River fire district under the city Charter.
In response, a city attorney said the suit is not about jurisdiction but whether Olive could prove he is authorized to act as fire marshal in the Turn of River district.
Kovack said Turn of River Fire Department should be made a party in the lawsuit because it has two pending suits against the city over control of the district and cuts to its budget.
Turn of River is one of two volunteer firehouses in litigation with the city after they opposed a city consolidation plan that would have staffed the departments with city firefighters. Belltown is the other firehouse.
Turn of River awaits court dates for its other two suits.
- Staff Writer Jeff Morganteen can be reached at jeff.morganteen@scni.com or 964-2215.