Trial Underway in Suit Filed by 2 Fire Captains
A trial involving two Orange County Fire Authority captains, who allege they were hired fraudulently by the city just months before its department was disbanded, has begun in Orange County Superior Court.
Tim Murphy and Donald Tully claim they were induced to leave secure jobs to become assistant chiefs in Westminster. They are suing for loss of income, benefits and punitive damages.
Defendants in the lawsuit include Charles V. Smith, Orange County supervisor and former Westminster mayor; former City Manager Bill Smith; former council member Charmayne S. Bohman; and current members Frank G. Fry and Tony Lam.
The defendants have repeatedly denied wrongdoing, saying the decision was strictly a budgetary one at a time when the city was struggling financially. Westminster disbanded its fire department in 1995 in favor of a contract with the Fire Authority, at a savings of about $1.8 million a year.
Tully and Murphy were later hired by the Fire Authority.
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