THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 31, 1996 TAG: 9608310373
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 65 lines
A judge Friday urged the state attorney general's office to settle its dispute with retired medical examiner Faruk B. Presswalla over $1,200 in legal fees.
At a hearing Friday, Circuit Judge Charles E. Poston told an assistant attorney general that ``the commonwealth is making a mountain out of a molehill'' in the dispute and that it should not be in court.
Poston also hinted that Presswalla could win his lawsuit against the state if it goes to trial. Poston said a key piece of evidence supporting Presswalla ``may have a major bearing on this case.''
That evidence is an affidavit from Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney Robert Humphreys saying that a top deputy in the attorney general's office assured him twice that Presswalla's legal expenses would be repaid.
Presswalla retired July 1 after 20 years as Hampton Roads' chief medical examiner. He is suing to collect about $1,200 that he spent for a private lawyer to defend him against a Texas lawsuit.
Presswalla says he feels betrayed by the state. He says he delayed retirement eight months at the state's request, and then the state refused to defend him against the Texas lawsuit - a suit that he says resulted from his official actions as medical examiner.
He sued the state in Norfolk Circuit Court on July 24.
The attorney general's office, however, says the Texas lawsuit arose from private correspondence between Presswalla and a Texas couple. The attorney general says taxpayers should not have to pay for Presswalla's private legal expenses.
Presswalla's lawsuit is scheduled for trial on Nov. 7.
The Texas case involves a baby who died in Norfolk in 1994. An autopsy by Presswalla's colleague, Dr. Leah Bush, concluded that the boy was a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome. The father was charged with murder.
The baby's grandparents in Texas did not believe the autopsy, so they wrote an angry letter to the state's chief medical examiner in Richmond, criticizing Presswalla and others.
Presswalla hired a private Norfolk lawyer to write to the couple and demand an apology. The couple responded by suing Presswalla in Texas for ``intentional infliction of emotional distress and harassment.''
Presswalla hired a private Texas lawyer to defend him. He won that case in April.
Now, Presswalla says Virginia should reimburse his legal expenses. He says the expenses could grow to $2,000 or more if the Texas case is appealed.
In his lawsuit, Presswalla says the attorney general's office refused to defend him because of ``politics and retaliation.'' He claims ``a pattern exists'' of ``adverse treatment'' of him by Republican administrations.
Presswalla says the attorney general is retaliating because Presswalla pressed a claim for sanctions last year against the attorney general's office for insulting him in correspondence. Presswalla lost that request.
The attorney general's office says that Presswalla's claim is baseless; that his correspondence with the Texas couple was private, not part of his public business; and that no retaliation or politics was involved.
On Friday, Poston refused to move the case to Richmond and ruled that Presswalla could not seek damages beyond reimbursement of his legal fees. He urged both sides to settle the dispute without a trial. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Faruk B. Presswalla sued the state to have legal expenses
reimbursed. A judge says the state is overreacting.
KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT by CNB