Texas Chief Sues for Wrongful Termination and Defamation

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Posted by: Curt Varone 8 hours ago 0 Comments

A Texas fire chief who was terminated for allegedly overspending his budget, has filed suit alleging wrongful termination and defamation.

Fire Chief Landon Smith was terminated earlier this month by the City of Van Alstyne because he allegedly overspent the fire department’s budget by $180,000. He had been on administrative leave since July.

Chief Smith was under an employment agreement with the city that ran from December 28, 2013 to December 28, 2015. Under the agreement, the city was required to pay Chief Smith three months salary as severance in order to terminate him for less than cause.

Van Alstyne’s mayor, Larry Cooper, contends that Chief Smith’s termination was for cause on account of the overspending.

Chief Smith’s attorney, Lindsay Goldstein, was quoted as saying “Chief Smith is a dedicated public servant who never hesitated to put his life on the line for his community. While we cannot get into the specifics of his termination, the current narrative is inaccurate and paints an unfair picture of Chief Smith and his department.”

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ABOUT CURT VARONE

Curt Varone has over 40 years of fire service experience and 30 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.