City Attorney Jenn Thompson Represents Board in Massive Fee Increase Case by Pleading on Its Behalf in Court.  Is This How You Want your Taxes to be Paid?

The twists and turns continue in the lawsuit of Bay Ferries vs the Board of Commissioners & Portland Pilots.  The suit was filed by attorney Harold Pachios, Preti Flaherty, on behalf of “The Cat,” the ferry that runs between Portland and Nova Scotia daily in the summer season.  The Cat is also known as Bay Ferries.

To refresh your memory, last year the Board of Harbor Commissioners complied with the Portland Pilots in its request to impose a massive fee increase on “The Cat.”  It was done improperly alleged The Cat through its attorney Harold Pachios.  “The Cat” is docked near the Ocean Gateway on the Portland waterfront when in Portland.

On June 1st, the Judge in a lawsuit filed by attorney Pachios agreed with him and vacated the massive fee increase imposed on the Portland Pirates because the monopoly Pirates failed to open up their books to show that this massive increase was justified. There were other ordinance requirements to follow that were not followed as well by the Board.   Apparently, the Board of Commissioners and the Portland Pilots disagreed with that judicial ruling.  They filed an appeal in the matter earlier this month.  Representing the Portland Pirates is Twain Braden, Esq.

Then on June 15, 2018, Portland city attorney Jenn Thompson filed a document requesting that The Cat be required to pay the massive fee vacated by Justice Lance Walker until the appeal is settled.  In other words, a Portland city hall attorney Thompson,  was representing the Board of Commissioners in its effort to counter Judge Walker’s original intent – that these massive pilot fee increases were arrived at illegally.

Is this how you want your Portland tax dollars to be spent?  Do you want to subsidize the Portland Pilots in its quest to line its pockets even more deeply than they currently are?

Please see previous posts herein dated June 5th and January 17, 2018 for more on the background of the controversy..