City of South Bend facing 8th potential lawsuit

SOUTH BEND , Ind. -- Right now, the City of South Bend is facing another potential lawsuit.

That's the eighth so far this year.

A city employee claims he was fired without cause from South Bend Water Works.

He's not just a city employee. He's also on the South Bend School Board.

Bill Sniadecki has informed the city that he intends to file a lawsuit for wrongful termination.

He worked for the city for more than 20 years.

While the notice was filed a month ago, it's just coming out now. Up to this point, Sniadecki had kept quiet about it because all he wanted was his job back with the city.

According to the Tort Claim, he was given the option to resign or be fired because his supervisor said he misused a city vehicle.

However, Sniadecki said that it wasn't that simple of a case. He said as the only on-call supervisor, he was required to drive his vehicle outside of his normal shift.

Beyond that, he said he was never given an explanation as to why the city thought he had misused the vehicle.

He said his job at the city was his livelihood and it's upsetting to him that he worked his way up the ladder only to be treated this way.

"I do owe the city a lot by giving me that opportunity but I also feel the city owes me for my dedication. I've put, just like on the school board, I've put in a lot of hours that I don't get paid for," said Sniadecki.

Sniadecki said seven months ago he was forced to resign, but when he rescinded that resignation, they fired him.

Since then, he has filed for unemployment, something you can get if you are terminated. Even after the city challenged it in court on two separate occasions, a judge ruled in his favor -- saying he was fired without just cause, and therefore had the right to the unemployment.