The former Newport UPS franchise owner, facing fines for flouting the state mask mandate, is asking for a new trial and complaining about his former lawyer.
Orleans County Judge Mary Miles Teachout ruled last month that Andre “Mike” Desautels would have to comply with the mask mandate to stay in business. At the time, Desautels was represented by lawyer Deborah Bucknam.
But Desautels now says he never gave Bucknam permission to move the case to trial as quickly as she did, according to court records.
Desautels expected only an argument over a preliminary injunction — an order to halt his business operations while the judge decided his case — according to a motion that his current attorney, Robert Kaplan, filed last Thursday.
“I was stunned during the hearing when I heard Attorney Bucknam agree to waive a trial on the merits and consolidate the trial with the preliminary injunction hearing,” Desautels wrote in an affidavit attached to the motion.
Kaplan’s motion states that Desautels never authorized Bucknam to take that step.
“Defendants never discussed a strategy of pretrial discovery with Attorney Bucknam or actions or steps that could be taken to learn about the state’s evidence or adequately prepare for a trial,” wrote Kaplan, who became Desautels’ attorney April 5.
Bucknam could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Bucknam, who has been vice chair of the Vermont Republican Party, has argued that Vermont communities can vote to end Gov. Phil Scott’s state of emergency within their borders, including the mask mandate.
The Desautels civil case — Vermont’s first legal test of the mask mandate — has spanned the first few months of the year.
From late 2015 to this February, Desautels ran a UPS franchise on Main Street in Newport. But after months of refusing to comply with Gov. Phil Scott’s executive order requiring business employees who interact with the public to wear face coverings, UPS corporate leaders cut ties with Desautels.
Soon after, Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan filed a civil lawsuit against the business owner, citing repeated attempts to gain his compliance.
Bucknam — who last year represented a Rutland gym owner who similarly bucked pandemic-related rules — was hired by Desautels on Feb. 26, according to the latest court papers. She took a multipronged approach in the case, expanding well beyond the question of Desautels’ compliance.
The decision to hire Bucknam came after Desautels “experienced difficulty in finding an attorney in my area who would represent me competently in this action,” he wrote in the recent affidavit.
Beyond the unauthorized trial agreement, Desautels claims Bucknam took other actions that merit a new trial.
She never gave Desautels a copy of her answer to the lawsuit — the initial response summing up her side’s arguments — or discussed the substance of the filing with him or the idea of filing counterclaims, according to the motion.
“I would not have agreed to give up my rights to counterclaims, civil discovery, or a trial for which I and my counsel are well prepared,” Desautels wrote.
He added: “I strongly wish to vigorously contest the state’s claims against me and to prevail in this action at a trial after adequate preparation.”
Desautels and his attorney want the judge to discard the unauthorized agreement and put the case back on “a traditional civil discovery schedule,” according to the motion.
The next hearing in the case is April 29. Teachout had been expected to decide whether Desautels would be penalized for violating the mandate. Under law, the maximum penalty is a fine of $1,000 per violation, with each day of noncompliance counting as its own violation.
It’s unclear how Desautels’ request for a new trial will affect the question of civil penalties.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Former UPS store owner, in court over mask mandate, wants a new trial.