Lawsuit Surprises Westhampton Beach Trustees

When contacted last week about a lawsuit that was filed in October 2011 against the village, its police department and an individual police officer, two trustees said they had no idea the village was even named in the suit.

Trustee , who has been a sitting board member for two years, said she was unaware of the suit when asked for a comment as did Police Chief Ray Dean.

"I think [they knew], but that is neither here nor there," said Mayor Contrad Teller when asked why two trustees were not notified about a pending lawsuit.

Teller said that normally when a suit is filed against the village, all trustees receive a notice of claim and then it is sent off the the village's insurance company.

Patricia DiBenedetto, who was elected to the board in June 2011, insists that she never received a copy of the suit, which is related to a former board member Joan Levan.

The suit, as reported by Patch last week, was filed by James Arrasate and claims that the village falsely reported that he told police that Levan trespassed on his property a day before the village's 2010 election. Arrasate says he never identified Levan, who has since filed a defamation suit against him.

Trustee Hank Tucker and Deputy Mayor Toni-Jo Birk did not immediately return phone calls.