PORTSMOUTH, Va. — An ousted Portsmouth city employee is suing the mayor and a city councilman for more than $5 million in a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Former city assessor Patrick Dorris claims he was fired in retaliation for refusing to follow unlawful orders by Mayor Shannon Glover and Councilman Bill Moody.
In March 2023, Portsmouth city council voted 5-1 to fire Dorris after residents complained of high real estate assessments.
But in a lawsuit filed on April 12 in Portsmouth Circuit Court, Dorris and his attorneys say that's not the real reason for his termination.
The 10-page complaint claims Dorris was fired in retaliation because "he refused to commit unlawful directives from Glover and Moody to not tax the Elizabeth Manor Golf And Country Club."
The lawsuit claims Dorris uncovered a loss of revenue for the city because it had not collected real estate taxes on the property. He claims it was determined the golf course had not paid real estate taxes to the city since 2003.
After he began looking into the matter, Dorris said he was called to a meeting with Glover and Moody, where they insisted, he had the discretion to not tax the property.
But Dorris said he told them he could not comply because the act would be against the law. Soon after, Dorris said he was fired on March 14, 2023.
On Thursday, Glover told 13News Now that he was not aware of any lawsuit and he has no comment at this time.
Moody called the allegations, "100 percent false."
After the vote that night, Councilman Mark Whitaker argued, the termination was connected to something other than Dorris' performance.
"Mr. Dorris exposed some things that some people in this city were privileged by," said Whitaker during the city council meeting. "He exposed we have a golf course that hasn't paid real estate taxes in 50 years. I think it was his moral courage and standing up against the privileged persons in this city."
According to the lawsuit and the Virginia Public Access Project, the owner of the golf course donated $6,000 to political campaigns for Glover in 2020, and $2,000 to support Moody's campaign in 2022.
The lawsuit also seeks an additional $350,000 in damages bringing the total more than $5.3 million in damages, and Dorris wants a jury trial.