Bombshell: James Freed Rejects ICMA Settlement Offer; Demands Retraction & Apology (Part 1)

Throughout his legal battle with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), Michigan city manager James Freed has been fairly tight-lipped with minimal public comments save for a lengthy podcast interview and a couple of news articles.

Seemingly out of the blue, Freed released a statement yesterday afternoon with a couple of bombshells. He also attached a 20 page court filing that also contained additional bombshells and information reinforcing statements he had made on the podcast that put the ICMA staff and executive board in a terrible light.

Freed Email Statement

There are two key takeaways from this email (click here to enlarge).

First, Freed states that the ICMA offered him “a large sum of money to settle” and that he rejected the offer.

Second, he throws down the gauntlet stating he will never settle unless there is a full retraction and apology.

His statement reads: “There will never be a settlement of any kind that doesn’t include a full retraction and apology, no matter the monetary value thrown at us.”

Rut-roh!

There isn’t a lot of hedge language in this statement and truthfully — I am excited to see it. I have long feared that Freed would accept a seven figure settlement because it is simply too hard to walk away from life-changing cash. And a settlement would mean that none of the depositions and other evidence would come out in this case.

It is clear that the ICMA knows they are over a barrel and have tried to buy their way out of this pickle (using their insurance company’s funds no doubt) without having to admit any guilt or culpability. The ICMA would rather pay through the nose on a “confidential” settlement where both sides can’t talk about the matter.

After all, it will be primarily funded through their insurance coverage.

Freed has turned that on its head and drawn a line in the sand.

They must retract and apologize. He knows that that is the “pain point” for this organization more than the money that isn’t coming out its coffers, anyway.

The ICMA leadership knows that a retraction and apology is going to be incredibly damaging to its reputation and standing. They know that this will trigger a tsunami of questions, concerns, and membership cancellations — especially now that the American Associaton of Municipal Executives offers concerned members an alternative option to pursue their professional development and networking needs.

In fact, ICMA West Coast Representative Pat Martel affirmed the existence of the AAME and stated in this audio recording that members of the ICMA were welcome to join it and any other organization that supports city and county managers.

Here’s the deal — can the ICMA really afford to go to trial and risk a massive judgment that exceeds whatever their insurance coverage limits are and puts the individual members of the executive board at personal risk?

This is a high-stakes game of poker. Who do we think is really bluffing?

Is it Freed who has already walked away from a “large sum of money” or the ICMA which has obviously refused to retract the public censure and apologize?

It is hard to argue that Freed is bluffing when he has stated in this email he will never settle unless he gets the retraction and apology he so clearly deserves.

But the bombshells continue in the court filing that accompanied his email statement.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this report which will be published today at 4 pm central.