By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
About a half a dozen pending lawsuits filed against the borough and the township have become the responsibility of the consolidated municipality.
Municipal attorney Edwin W. Schmierer said Friday that the town inherits the legal liability of those cases, ranging from allegations by two former members of the Township Police Department to a complaint by a street preacher cited for disorderly conduct. He said a majority of the five to seven cases are being handled by the town’s insurance carrier, although Mr. Schmierer said he would be monitoring their status and any developments in them.
Mr. Schmeier, the township attorney for 30 years, was appointed the attorney of the consolidated municipality last week. He is the government’s head lawyer.
Separately, he said that any lawsuits brought against the now-defunct Regional Planning Board would have to be defended by the newly constituted Planning Board.
At least one suit is expected by opponents of Princeton University’s $300 million arts and transit project that the board approved last month. And so far, developer AvalonBay has not publicly stated if it would appeal the board’s decision, also last month, for rejecting its proposed 280-unit apartment building at the site of the former University Medical Center of Princeton.
As for the consolidated municipality, some of the pending lawsuits stem from the former township and borough police departments.
Police Officer Kenneth Riley, a member of former Borough Police Department now in the consolidated force, filed a “whistle-blower’s lawsuit in 2011 against the borough alleging he was “terminated” after raising allegations of misconduct against a fellow officer. His lawyer, B. David Jarashow, said Friday that the sides “may be close” to a resolution but did not elaborate.
More recently, two former township police officers, Michael Henderson and Arthur S. Villaruz, have sued claiming they were coerced into retiring from their jobs stemming from a gun-trading scandal that toppled former Chief Mark Emann. Both men claimed they were falsely implicated in the matter and threatened with criminal prosecution if they did not leave.
In their suit, they alleged there was misconduct at the highest levels of the police department, starting with the former chief.
In addition, Mr. Schmierer said a federal lawsuit recently was brought against the borough by a street preacher who had been cited for disorderly conduct, only later to have his case thrown out. He had no comment on that case or the one brought by the two former police officers.

