NU alumni association denies wrongdoing alleged in lawsuit
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BY CORY MATTESON / Lincoln Journal Star
Ed Paquette, the former director of the Nebraska Alumni Association, sued the group in October, saying its directors made disparaging comments about him.
In the association’s response filed Monday in Lancaster County District Court, some of the remarks he’d alleged were disparaging to him reappeared in a counterclaim.
In its answer to the lawsuit, the Nebraska Alumni Association denied “each and every allegation” that Paquette leveled against it.
Paquette in October filed a lawsuit saying that he took a lesser severance package “in exchange for defendant’s agreement not to disparage plaintiff.”
Paquette took a leave of absence from heading the alumni association in late 2007 after a university audit found that some of the association’s transactions weren’t properly documented. He has denied any wrongdoing; he never returned to his post.
Paquette received a $259,000 severance package from the association.
Since then, Paquette’s attorney, Vince Powers, said that an alumni board member, John Kopecky, publicly called into question transactions made by Paquette and alleged a possible conflict of interest when dealing with a company connected to Paquette’s son.
Kopecky is no longer a board member.
Those allegations, and three others, are mentioned in a counterclaim filed against Paquette. The alumni association has requested a jury trial, claiming that Paquette breached his contract and owes reimbursement for the following transgressions:
* Submission of inappropriate expenses.
* Receiving bonuses which should not have awarded.
* Causing the alumni association to enter into agreements with businesses that had a relationship to him or his family without disclosing the relationships.
* Failing to report all expenses incurred for which he received reimbursement to the alumni association’s board of directors.
* Using University of Nebraska athletic tickets without paying for them.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. Reach Cory Matteson at 473-7438 or cmatteson@journalstar.com.
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Yet....I am always amazed by the point of view of someone and their attorney when they feel they have been wronged.
When someone makes "disparaging remarks" about a person.....is that the
same thing as "telling the truth' and you don't want to hear the truth?
Aaaah, Mr. Ed...do youself a favor and save yourself a LOT of money....
move on to something else that is productive and will add REAL meaning
to your life!! "
JT wrote on November 19, 2008 9:56 pm:
Jeanne wrote on November 19, 2008 11:36 pm:
Buddha wrote on November 20, 2008 8:02 am: