Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Legal Update topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City attorney summarizes concluded litigation involving Michael Diesing
Summary
Attorney Gary Fletcher told the council that depositions and plea proceedings in the Michael Diesing matter concluded and that related civil claims have been dismissed or resolved; Fletcher said the underlying criminal plea was for a misdemeanor false‑statement offense and that the city's insurer found no wrongdoing by investigators.
Attorney Gary Fletcher gave an update to the Marysville City Council about litigation involving Michael Diesing and investigative work by Detective Kelsey Wade. Fletcher summarized the litigation history, including criminal charges that led to a misdemeanor plea in the Second District Court for false statements related to a loan application, and said civil suits were later filed against several people involved in the investigation.
Fletcher said depositions progressed until Diesing's counsel asked to break and then moved to dismiss the case; "the case ended and it's over and it includes any claims that were brought or could have been brought in that lawsuit," he told the council. Fletcher also reported that the city's insurer "found no wrongdoing and no reason to do anything other than take the case on and to its completion." He described previous public commentary by Dave Barber and explained how depositions — including one by Todd Shouty — affected the course of litigation.
The update recited names involved in the matter (Michael Diesing; Detective Kelsey Wade; Randy Fernandez; Ed Jerome; Dave Barber) and traced the sequence from internal complaints to criminal charges and then to civil litigation. Fletcher said some allegations, such as claims that individuals conspired to remove an employee from on‑call firefighter status, did not reflect participating officials' direct actions; in his characterization, several officials deferred to the fire chief's decisions.
No formal council action followed the legal update. The council moved on after members offered thanks and no additional public questions were recorded.
