First claim of wrongful dismissal netted settlement
By BRENDA SOMMER news1@leader-news.com

EARL JOY

Former CDC executive director Earl Joy's lawsuit against El Campo's City Development Corp. and the city itself is not the first time Joy has sued a former employer.

Prior to being hired in El Campo, Joy was executive director of the Business Development Corporation of Vernon, Texas, from June 1994 to June 2002.

Mark Potter, staff reporter for the Vernon Daily Record, said Joy sued the city and its BDC once he was let go.

"The answer that the board president gave for his dismissal was 'loss of confidence' in his leadership," Potter said. "I think part of it was mostly due to a conflict with the board that was on at that time … the Business Development Corp. directors were looking at the possibility of merging the position of executive director with that of the local Chamber director. … Mr. Joy had questioned the legality of such a setup."

Potter said Joy then sued for wrongful termination, a matter dealt with by the city's insurer.

"A settlement was reached around 2004 or 2005 (for) around $20,000," Potter said. "That was probably paid for by Vernon's liability insurance providers."

Prior to his position in Vernon, Joy worked as executive director in Virginia for the Wythe County Joint Industrial Development Authority, holding that position from March 1990 to December 1993.

Wayne Quesenberry, long-time staff writer at the Wytheville Enterprise, said his paper's files indicate "Mr. Joy resigned under pressure on Oct. 29, 1993."

"There were questions about his performance," Quesenberry said. His staff does not recall any lawsuit resulting from Joy's termination there, nor does Tom Dupuis, who was JIDA board president at the time.

Joy was hired this May and began work June 1 as executive director of the Dayton (Texas) Community Development Corp., which had just wrapped up lawsuit troubles of its own. Last September it settled a breach of contract lawsuit filed by its now-former executive director, Sue Priddy.

Mike George, who is editor of the Dayton News and covers the Dayton CDC, said no mention of a lawsuit or complaint was made in the meetings he attended relevant to Joy's hiring, although interviews and discussions on hiring mostly took placed in closed executive session, as is allowed by law.

"No, it didn't come up," George said. "I don't remember that, although it could've come up in executive session and I wouldn't know about it."

Dayton CDC board member and former board president Kenneth Voyteck said his board was unaware of Joy's current complaint against the city of El Campo and the El Campo CDC, or of Joy's previous suit against the Vernon BDC.

"Oh lord, see, we didn't know that, we did not know that," Voyteck said. "I can honestly say we did not know that, it wasn't anything that came up.

"We were aware that there was a change of the board (in El Campo), and that was the same thing that happened down here, the philosophy of the new board was different, but (Joy) didn't talk about a dismissal. We didn't ask if he were dismissed. We didn't ask about a lawsuit."

Mike Fielder, Dayton CDC attorney, said he's "pretty sure" his board was not aware of Joy's lawsuit against Vernon or complaint against El Campo when Joy was hired.

"He came with a lot of good credentials, and so far, he seems to be quite professional," Fielder said.