Controller John Liu plans to sue the city over the denial of $3.5 million in public matching funds during his failed mayoral campaign, the Daily News learned Friday.
Our Greg B. Smith reports:
Liu notified his own office that he is seeking unspecified damages for “deprivation of civil rights, mental and emotional harm, loss of dignity, loss of earnings and professional reputation,” according to the notice of claim.
Richard Emery, a well-known attorney who was a big fundraiser for Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio, is representing Liu in his quest to seek damages from the
.
The board on Aug. 5 denied Liu’s request
for millions of dollars in public funding for his mayoral campaign,
citing the conviction of two Liu associates
for raising illegal campaign contributions.
Liu was never charged and no evidence surfaced that linked him directly to the scheme.
But in denying the matching funds, board chairman the Rev. Joseph Parkes, said “the evidence suggests that the potential violations are serious and pervasive across the campaign’s fundraising.”
Emery quietly filed the notice of claim with the controller’s office, which Liu oversees, Nov. 1.
The notice alleges the CFB “specifically targeted” Liu and came to a “substantially unreasonable and incorrect decision reached through an unfair and opaque process.”
Because the claim was filed with the controller’s office and will be reviewed by the city’s corporation counsel, Liu has recused himself “from all matters concerning it,” his office said in a prepared statement Friday.
IMAGE: JAMES KEIVOM/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
