Not long after filing the lawsuit Dapcevich offered to settle with the city, for his legal expenses and the resignation of administrator Mark Gorman.
Attorneys representing the City of Sitka, Mayor Matt Hunter, and administrator Mark Gorman have asked the court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the procurement of a dock at Sitka’s industrial park.
Michael Gatti, with the Anchorage-based law firm of Jermain, Dunnagan & Owens filed an answer to the suit on May 22. The plaintiff is former mayor Marko Dapcevich, who filed his brief at the end of March.
Except for descriptive sections which identify Hunter and Gorman and their roles in municipal government, Gatti essentially refutes or denies every single paragraph of Dapcevich’s allegations that the city illegally awarded a design-build contract to Turnagain Marine Construction for a floating dock at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park.
Gatti also presents a counter-argument, stating that Dapcevich “fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted” and “lacks standing to bring this litigation.”
Dapcevich owns a home in Sitka, but works in cities around the country for a disaster-relief company based in the lower 48. He maintains a second home in Arizona.
As to Dapcevich’s assertion that Hunter and Gorman are personally liable for the misappropriation of the $6.5 million contract, Gatti writes, the “Defendants are immune from liability pursuant to any and all theories of immunity which may prove applicable in this dispute.”
So far, no hearings have been scheduled for the case.
