Exeter v Dave Hughes ends in settlement

Settlement announced immediately by township attorney. Story update. Hughes to resign as part of agreement.

The matter of Exeter Township v Dave Hughes ended immediately this morning in Courtroom 4A of the Berks County Services Center with Exeter Township attorney Joan London announcing to Judge James Gavin that a settlement had been reached.

The trial began right on time at 9 AM. Upon London’s announcement to the judge, he asked if the matter was dismissed with prejudice, which London affirmed. “Dismissed with prejudice” means the matter is closed and cannot be brought back to court.

Hughes spoke in the hallway after the brief trial, saying, “The people of Exeter know of my trials and tribulations with this Board of Supervisors (BOS), the constant obstruction, the harassing tactics. I’m relieved this is over. To quote one of my favorite movies, ‘They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.’ I’m very happy with the settlement. I can’t give out any details, as the settlement is confidential.”

Hughes’ attorney Sally J. Daugherty of Salmon, Richezza, Singer & Torchi of Philadelphia told the Examiner that a Right to Know (RTK) request would need to be filed with the township to obtain the details. That RTK has been filed already.

When asked if removal of the two censures that the BOS had lodged against him were part of the settlement, Hughes said that they were. “The censures will be obliterated, and they will have to advertise that to the media in the same way that they advertised the censures in the first place.”, Hughes said. Those two censures, which were childish in nature and meant to be an obstructive attempt to demonize Hughes, were passed by the last BOS.

The entire affair began on September 11th, 2023, when the BOS voted to file for “injunctive relief” against Hughes’ publication of what they deemed to be “attorney/client privileged materials”.

By current amounts known, Exeter Township has spent at LEAST $30,000 in lawyer’s fees to Kozloff/Stoudt, the firm that employs London. There is an undetermined amount that Schnee was paid in connection to the losing effort. Hughes’ out of pocket legal expenses, estimated by a legal expert to be $20,000 or perhaps a tad more, will undoubtedly be a part of the settlement, as well as the $50,000 paid by DVIT, the township’s former insurance carrier. That will bring legal spending on this case alone to over $100,000 for a losing effort. When combined with the $30,000 spent in filing suit against me personally and the Examiner in an effort that they dropped because a loss was assured, wasted legal spending in the last two years exceeds $130,000. That doesn’t include any payment settlement to Hughes that may be part of this agreement.

After the trial was dismissed, Judge Gavin asked to see Exeter Solicitor Chad Schnee in chambers. Given the judge’s previous admonition that neither side would like the result if the trial proceeded, and his prior summoning of Schnee to chambers, my legal expert believes that Schnee was reprimanded for wasting the court’s time with a frivolous lawsuit.

In attendance for the trial were possible witnesses, BOS members Jack Piho, Clarence Hamm, George Bell, and Michelle Kircher, as well as former BOS member Ted Gardella, who resigned in disgrace.

Thus draws to an end a shameful moment in Exeter’s history, one in which the taxpayer’s money was wasted to harass and demean a member of the BOS because of his disagreement with their way of doing business. Details of the agreement will be divulged with the RTK resolution, hopefully.

**************UPDATE*********

In an update to the story, the following has been released by Exeter Township.

“The Board of Supervisors of Exeter Township and Supervisor David Hughes are pleased to announce that they have entered into an agreement which will resolve the differences between them.  The agreement includes ending the litigation filed by the Township in the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County in October of 2023,  as well as resolving the federal and state law claims that Supervisor Hughes has filed, or provided notice of intent to file, against the Township.  The litigation also includes mutual releases with no admission of liability on either side.  As the relationship between Supervisor Hughes and the Board has fractured, Mr. Hughes has agreed to resign from his office as Supervisor, so that Mr. Hughes and the Board of Supervisors may continue to serve the community along their own separate paths.”

There is much to take apart with this bit of information. Full analysis forthcoming today.