Ed Turner, PE is the former City Engineer of Idaho Falls,
Idaho who was forced to resign for refusing to sign and seal projects over which
eh did not have responsible charge. Ed had been with the City Engineering
Department for over 27 years performing his duties competently and
professionally when he was asked to step aside and accept a lower position. No
rational justification was given for this move except that it was being done to
improve the efficiency of the Department. Despite his demotion and reduced span
of responsibilities Ed was ordered to approve plats and other engineering
documents over which he had no “responsible charge”. Ed refused to go along
with this set up since it violated the Idaho Engineering Licensure Statute and
put the public at risk. Ed acted professionally and ethically in trying to
protect the public health and safety and for his exemplary behavior he paid a
heavy price namely the loss of his career and the economic and psychological
turmoil that such a loss created.
Upon his resignations from this position, Ed sued the City of Idaho Falls for wrongful termination and breach of contract money among other charges. He battled the City in court for over three years. Because of errors by his lawyer, Ed lost his fight with the City of Idaho of Idaho falls. Due to financial difficulties Ed was forced to settle with the City. He is presently suing his former lawyer for malpractice.
Although Ed’s present lawsuit is for legal malpractice,
the resolution of this case will still hinge on the issue of responsible charge.
Ed’s present lawyer will still have to prove that the issue of responsible
charge is still valid and central to winning the case. In legal jargon, Ed’s
case is what’s called a “case within a case”. The “inside” case is
Ed’s original lawsuit against the City of Idaho Falls. The “outside case”
is the legal malpractice lawsuit. In essence Ed’s lawyer has to win the
original case in order to prevail in the present case.
Because of its importance to the Engineering Profession,
AEA has marshaled all available resources to ensure that Ed prevails in his
legal battle. We have called out to the Engineering Community to come to the aid
of Ed Turner, PE. We are presently working with some of our sister societies to
coordinate our efforts in support of Ed Turner’s litigation.
AEA is soliciting colleagues in the Engineering Community
to help in any way they can. The most effective and immediate way of helping is
by contributing to the “Turner Engineering Litigation Assistance”, P.O. Box
1345, Idaho falls, Idaho 83403-1345.
Additionally, Engineers can help by joining AEA so that we can have the resources to continue supporting Ed and to carry on the work of promoting and protecting the Engineering Profession. Visit the AEA website, WWW.AEAWORLD.ORG, and become a member.