JEFFERSON CITY - Settlement talks today between Jay Nixon and a quadriplegic attorney who successfully sued him for discrimination have been sealed by a federal court, raising serious questions about Nixon’s willingness to publicly disclose to taxpayers how much of their money he spent defending himself in the case and why he discriminated in the first place.

A docket entry regarding final settlement talks between Nixon and Marla Grothoff held today before Judge William Knox in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri carries the notation “MINUTE ENTRY (SEALED).” Minutes from a similar hearing held last month were considered public record, copies of which were easily obtained by the Missouri Republican Party and showed both sides ready to sign off on the settle. Now, with details of today’s meeting closed to the public, the case has been curiously delayed again and been transferred to another judge.

The details of the meeting and final settlement must be made public under the Missouri Sunshine Law (RSMo 610.021.1) since taxpayer dollars were used to defend Nixon, who fired Grothoff after he took over responsibility for staff attorneys within the Department of Social Services Enforcement Division. Nixon was sued both as the attorney general and as an individual.

For the last three years, court records show that taxpayer-financed Nixon attorneys James McAdams, Carolyn Vasterling and Karen Mitchell have been defending their boss with McAdams pulling down a $96,622 state salary and Vasterling and Mitchell taking in $92,000 and $113,044 respectively. The case is clearly being paid for by taxpayers since Nixon’s campaign reports for legal fees show no expenditures for the Grothoff case even though he is also being sued as a private individual. Of course, this is the same Jay Nixon who once claimed: “State government should be a leader, not a shirker, on issues of discrimination and should not be allowed to treat its employees as second-class citizens.”

• So even though Nixon pays lip service to the Sunshine Law, why all of a sudden are details of the case being kept from public view?
• Did Nixon agree that the minutes of today’s proceedings be sealed? Why?
• Did Nixon ask that neither side could discuss the case publicly to avoid answering taxpayer questions?
• Will Nixon provide detailed billing records of state attorneys used in the case?

“Jay Nixon continues to use taxpayer dollars to defend himself in court for discriminating against an attorney for being a quadriplegic, and now he is trying to hide from those same taxpayers who deserve an explanation about how much of their money is being spent to pay for his illegal activity and why exactly he discriminated against Marla Grothoff in the first place,” said Paul Sloca, communications director for the Missouri Republican Party. “Jay Nixon must publicly explain why he would discriminate against a disabled Missourian when he claimed to be an opponent of such despicable behavior.”