Former Portsmouth City Attorney Files $2 Million Lawsuit Against Mayor

Portsmouth Mayor John Rowe is facing a hefty lawsuit from a fired city employee. Former City Attorney Solomon Ashby recently filed a $2 million defamation lawsuit against the mayor, claiming he has damaged his reputation.

Ashby was fired during a city meeting last month, according to WTKR, on the same day that City Manager Dr. Lydia Pettis Patton resigned. No explanation was given at the time, but Mayor Rowe said the city was retaining outside law firms with the council's knowledge.

While he was still employed by the city, Ashby advised the city council to not fire Patton.

"The Portsmouth City Council should take no action as it concerns Dr. Patton," said Ashby. "If I can't convince you to cease from materially furthering a course of conduct to take action against Dr. Patton, I may have to withdraw from representing the City."

Ashby took issue with Rowe's comments to a media outlet.

"[That email] was the straw the broke the camel's back. I have never seen an opinion like that before. It just did not make any sense and it doesn't make any sense now," Mayor Rowe said. "Culminating in an opinion that you can't fire the city manager, that the city manager is bulletproof, and that just does not hold up."

According to court documents, the mayor's comments have caused Ashby to suffer "injury and harm to both his good personal reputation and his good business reputation, as well as great humiliation, shame, vilification, exposure to public infamy, scandal, and disgrace."

Mayor Rowe declined to comment on the lawsuit to WTKR.

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