On The Money: Ugly Legal Wranglings In Stockton

By Mike Luery

Contract negotiations have turned ugly in Stockton -- where the city and the police union are entangled in a messy and expensive lawsuit. And ground zero in the fight is the city manager's maple tree.

It turns out the police union damaged the tree with a backhoe.

"We were out here making repairs," said Sean Fenner of the Stockton Police Officers Association. The SPOA was "getting rid of the bamboo and so forth that was in the yard and in the midst of that we hit his tree. It wasn't intentional," Fenner told CBS13.

Stockton has declared a fiscal emergency that has triggered big pay cuts for city police. The battle zone has now become a house, just purchased by the SPOA on North Country Club Boulevard –- next door to the home of City Manager Bob Deis. The two sides are at war.

The SPOA house was previously in foreclosure when the police union bought it in June -– and their new next door neighbor is Bob Deis -– the same city manager they are suing over the contract dispute.

"It just so happens that this house -- the city's manager's house is right there over your shoulder?" this reporter asked Fenner.

"It's a coincidence," Fenner said.

The city of Stockton doesn't think it's a coincidence. Stockton is now spending big bucks on a Bay Area law firm to fight the union lawsuit.

"And so the union by filing this lawsuit, by purchasing this property in our view to harass the city manager, all they're trying to do is act like a bully," said Geoffrey Spellberg, the attorney representing the city of Stockton.

The police union insists its new home, now under renovation, is a good investment. "We said you know, what we're going to do is get the most bang for our buck," Fenner said. "We bought this house $400,000 cheaper than he did and we said, you know what, this is a value."

But the fight has gotten personal after the police union damaged the city manager's maple tree. The two sides are fighting it out in court, with taxpayers caught in the crossfire.

"No it's not money wasted," Spellberg said. "The city would be derelict in its duties to not respond to that lawsuit filed by the union," he added.

Police union members claim the city is now harassing them with zoning code violations.

"After we bought the house, we've been unfairly targeted with complaints," Fenner told CBS13.

The nasty neighborhood dispute has no winners – only losers.

"Everybody is losing," Spellberg said. "The city is losing. The union is losing. The lawsuit takes time away from city government."

CBS13 filed a public records act request to find out exactly how much money taxpayers are shelling out for the legal dispute. Late Tuesday we received the answer: It turns out the total cost to date, for defense against the SPOA lawsuit is approximately $110,000 and another $50,000 for the cross complaint. Stockton says the $160,000 is money well spent to protect city services – and the city's solvency.

The fight has also been costly for the city manager and police chief in Stockton -– both of whom have announced they are stepping down from their duties.