Appeals court hears appeal after Gloucester bypass; panel takes case under advisement

The Massachusetts Appeals Court on Oct. 24 heard oral arguments in Paul DeFires v. City of Gloucester, an appeal of a Civil Service Commission decision that upheld the city’s 2022 bypass of DeFires for a firefighter position. DeFires, representing himself, urged the court to reverse the commission and the Superior Court and to award relief including legal costs or a new hearing; the panel repeatedly questioned aspects of the city’s background investigation. The court took the matter under advisement and did not issue a decision.

DeFires, who identified himself as the appellant and said he was representing himself, told the panel that the City of Gloucester “withheld all of the positive information” and provided a “cherry picked negatively biased investigation report” to the appointing authority. He said the city’s investigators provided only a two-page summary from Lieutenant Detective Williams while a fuller investigation file of about 102 pages existed but was not produced to him in time to pursue follow-up evidence. “If the chief had…