Senate won’t pay Brodkorb, lawsuit expected

After negotiations broke down, an attorney for former Senate staffer Michael Brodkorb says they intend to file a lawsuit over his dismissal.

Brodkorb's attorney, Phil Villaume, said he will now begin making preparations to file a lawsuit against the Minnesota Senate in U.S. District Court. The decision came after the secretary of the Minnesota Senate announced today that there won't be any mediation of a complaint Michael Brodkorb filed over his termination last year.

In a news release, Secretary of the Senate Cal Ludeman said the Senate had refused the request, because Brodkorb had not provided "any factual basis for any dispute over his termination." He said the termination was handled properly.

Brodkorb lost his job as communication director for the Senate Republican caucus in December shortly after Sen. Amy Koch, R-Buffalo, resigned as majority leader amid allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a male staffer.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

Ludeman's release said that an attorney hired by the Senate had reviewed Brodkorb's complaint and found it was without merit.

"Despite Mr. Brodkorb's efforts to disrupt the work of the Senate in the current legislative session, to distract members of the Senate , to extort a payment from the Senate, and to try his so-called claims in the media, the Senate will not allow that to succeed," Ludeman wrote.

Villaume, said the news release was a "gross misrepresentation" of the siutation. He said both sides were on the verge of an agreement to mediate the dispute, once the Legislative session was over.

"For them to pull these shenanigans at this point in time is nothing less than dealing in bad faith," Villaume said. "Mr. Brodkorb has a legitimate legal claim for money damages arising out of discriminatory acts on the part of the Minnesota Senate in terminating him from his employment."