A former Peoria city attorney filed a countersuit in Maricopa County Superior Court saying an attempt by the city to sue her came with officials trying to have her ousted from her job at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Vanessa Hickman, who is being sued by the city alleging she received an improper severance, filed a counterclaim May 3 alleging she was retaliated against because in her AG role she oversees the Arizona State Land Department, which Peoria officials are currently working with in an effort for a future hub of technology in the northern part of the city, including a proposed airpark.
The original city lawsuit listed Hickman and former Peoria Mayor Cathy Carlat, who said she is not part of Hickman’s countersuit, but contends the allegations in the city’s initial lawsuit are “totally false.”
