MEA case back in Palmer

PALMER -- Palmer Superior Court Judge Eric Smith will handle a lawsuit concerning Michael Janecek's April ouster from the Matanuska Electric Association board, related to Janecek's refusal to submit to drug testing.

U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick sent the case back to Palmer this week, saying the state court should oversee the suit. The decision dealt only with the issue of where the case should be heard, not whether newly required drug testing of MEA board members is lawful.

MEA members approved two bylaw changes in April -- one requiring drug testing of board members and another requiring board members disclose the identities of small campaign donors. Janecek refused to submit to the drug testing, and the MEA board unseated him.

Anticipating a lawsuit over the issue, MEA filed a lawsuit in Anchorage, asking the court to rule the new drug policy was sound, MEA spokesman Mike Pauley said Friday. That same day MEA member Rowland Waterman filed suit in Palmer, claiming the drug policy was unconstitutional and an invasion of privacy as it's written. Because one of Waterman's claim was a federal 4th Amendment claim, MEA asked both cases be resolved in federal court in Anchorage. MEA has since dropped its lawsuit and only the Waterman case remains, Pauley said.

Sedwick this week dismissed the sole federal constitutional claim, according to Waterman's lawyer Bill Ingaldson. The remainder of the claims deal with Alaska rather than federal law. The Alaska Constitution typically offers broader protection of its citizens' privacy rights than the federal constitution, he said.

Ingaldson was pleased with the decision.

"We'd prefer [the case] was heard in Palmer because that's where MEA is located," Ingaldson said.

MEA's Pauley said the electric company wanted the case heard in Anchorage simply for efficiency purposes, rather than seeking a forum more favorable to its arguments.

"All of our lawyers are in Anchorage. Waterman's lawyer is in Anchorage," Pauley said. MEA members have railed against the amount of money the utility pays out in legal fees, and this was an attempt to minimize them, he said.

While all the legal wrangling has ensued, Janecek's former board seat remains vacant. Ingaldson asked the court Thursday to reinstate Janecek to the board seat until the Palmer court rules on the case, he said.

MEA is currently appealing a decision in another Waterman lawsuit related to Janecek's election and alleged campaign disclosure violations. Palmer Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler sided with Waterman that Janecek did not violate MEA bylaws and ordered Janecek seated on the board. MEA appealed this ruling to the Alaska Supreme Court.