On April 3, 2013, eight retirees from the Wildwood Police Department (Kerry Higgs, Jonathan Winsett, James Nanos, John Davis, Gary Demarzo, William Cooper, Kenneth Philips and Roland Roy) sued two then currently employed officers (Steven Long and Shawn Yuhas), the City of Wildwood and its City Clerk Christopher Wood. The civil complaint in Higgs, et al v. Long, et al, Docket No. CPM-C-20-13, is on-line here.
The lawsuit contains two claims. In their first claim, the eight retirees allege that Long and Yuhas, who were said to be in charge of the “Wildwood Police Benefit Fund,” a fund to which all eight retirees claimed to have contributed, “failed to manage the fund in a way that would maximize value [and] negligently distributed monies from the Fund for purposes other than intended when created.” Their second claim alleges that Clerk Wood failed to abide by the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) by refusing to disclose records pertaining to the Fund.
The Superior Court’s computer system makes it difficult to tell how this case has proceeded. But, it looks as if the City and Clerk Wood were dismissed out of the case on August 21, 2014. The only other thing I can determine is that Long and Yuhas have filed a “Motn Pay Cslf” which I understand to be a Motion to Pay Counsel Fees, where Long and Yuhas are apparently seeking to recover their attorney fees from the plaintiffs.
Long’s and Yuhas’ motion, along with a Case Management Conference, will be held before Judge Raymond A. Batten on Monday, December 1, 2014 at 1:30 p.m. The Court’s computer lists the location of the hearing as “ML4” which I presume means the Mays Landing facility at 4997 Unami Boulevard. Anyone who wishes to attend the hearing should call Judge Batten’s chambers at 609-909-8233 on Monday morning and confirm the hearing’s location.
