The City of Moose Jaw is preparing to defend itself in court after having a lawsuit brought against them by former City Manager Matt Noble.

You may remember the story of Matt Noble and his surprise departure as City Manager. It was in November of 2017 that Noble advised our newsroom of his resignation but was light on details. All he would say is that he was unable to resolve some issues with council. That same week, Mayor Fraser Tolmie confirmed Noble's resignation but declined to go any further.

We've now learned that Noble is suing the city saying he was forced to resign. A statement of claim filed with the courts says that Noble was constructively dismissed and forced to resign. The former city manager claims relationships became strained with city council following the election in October 2016, therefore preventing him from performing his duties and undermined his position.

The statement says that in February 2017, Noble raised his concerns with council and talked about their interactions with his administration, specifically unfair statements made in public forums, such as city council meetings. He also accuses the councillors of holding meetings without administration present.

A month after that meeting with council, the statement says the city clerk presented a report to council advising them to avoid personalizing debate by publicly criticizing administration or injuring their reputation. Court documents also show an apology letter was written by Mayor Tolmie, recognizing the tone towards administration had been tense, strained and at times disrespectful, pledging that the city would police itself with more professional language.

Despite this, the working environment did not change according to court documents, leading to the letter of resignation in November 2017.

The statement of claim wraps up by saying that the city did, without cause or reasonable notice, fundamentally changed the terms of his employment by failing to provide him with meaningful work from October 2016 onward. The employer created a hostile work environment preventing him from doing his job.

In his contract, it stated that in the absence of just cause for dismissal, he would be given reasonable notice for termination. Feeling that reasonable notice had not been provided, Noble requested a severance package but denied by the city.

The statement claims damages for dismissal based on the remained of his contract through the summer of 2018, benefits that were entitled to him through his contract, $35,000 for damages for bad faith and in the manner that he was treated, along with interest and legal fees.

The city has filed a notice of intent to defend but has not filed their actual statement of defence yet, meaning they have not officially responded to the accusation being made by Noble in his statement of claim.

There are no future hearing dates set for the file at this time.