In a recent podcast interview, Richmond Mayor Danny Avula was asked why the city hasn’t settled a lawsuit against the government filed by Connie Clay, the city’s former Freedom of Information Act officer.

“If what is being publicly reported was actually the truth, then know that this would be solved a long time ago,” Avula told Rich Meagher, the host of VPM’s RVA’s Got Issues podcast.

It’s not fully clear what the mayor meant by that remark, but it didn’t sit well with Clay. 

“Taxpayers have spent too much money for the mayor to not know what’s going on in this very high-profile and expensive lawsuit,” Clay said in an Oct. 8 interview with The Richmonder.

Clay, who worked for the city during former Mayor Levar Stoney’s tenure, filed her lawsuit in early 2024, claiming she was wrongfully fired for insisting that the city follow Virginia's laws on public access to government records and fully comply with FOIA requests she was hired to handle. 

Lawyers for the city are arguing Clay wasn’t fired for being a government whistleblower, and was instead terminated for being combative, difficult to work with and generally unfit for the role.

Avula inherited the lawsuit when he took office early this year. A judge’s recent decision to postpone a September trial until June of 2026 means the case will extend much further into Avula’s term than previously expected, further tying him to the city’s actions in a legal battle he didn’t start.

Avula told Meagher he wants the lawsuit resolved “as quickly as possible” and in a manner that serves the “best interest of the taxpayers.”

The mayor didn’t elaborate on the outcome he’s hoping for, but Clay said Avula’s characterization of things doesn’t align with the “pattern of concealment” she sees in the city’s handling of the case.

Clay said she’d like to know what the mayor believes is true.

“What is he being told? What has he reviewed on his own?” Clay said. “I invite him to come to a hearing. I invite him to read the clerk’s file as opposed to letting someone else tell him what’s happening.”

In making the decision to postpone the trial, Richmond Circuit Court Judge Claire G. Cardwell said there were too many unresolved disputes about documents and witness testimony for the trial to go forward. She has since ordered the city’s attorneys to conduct additional searches for cell phone evidence. The court also instructed the city to make former city spokeswoman Petula Burks available for more questioning under oath after the city’s team let Burks leave a court-ordered deposition early before Clay’s attorneys could finish getting the testimony of the ex-official who fired their client.

The judge has faulted both legal teams for delays in the case. But Cardwell’s recent orders indicate the court isn’t fully satisfied with the city’s claims that no evidence has been missed or hidden. After telling the judge the city had diligently provided all text messages from a city phone issued to Burks, the city’s legal team recently disclosed the original phone went missing months after the litigation began.

Asked to clarify the mayor’s remarks and whether the city is open to settling the case or intends to keep fighting it, city spokesperson Mira Signer declined to answer with specifics.

“This case, which began in 2024, is in active litigation and we respectfully decline to comment,” Signer said.

Clay said there have been no settlement offers from the city and little to no talk of negotiating a deal.

“We sent two written settlement offers to the city and have received no response whatsoever,” Clay said. “Meanwhile, they’re hiding how much they’re spending on this lawsuit.”

Clay was referring to the lack of monthly invoices filed with the city by Ogletree Deakins, the private employment law firm Richmond hired to handle the Clay case on the city’s behalf.

The city’s legal representatives have characterized the invoice stoppage — which has led the city to receive no invoices from Ogletree for work performed since May — as a technical issue they’re hoping to resolve quickly. However, as of Friday, city officials said they still had no new bills from Ogletree.

Clay said she doesn’t believe a “glitch” is preventing the law firm from submitting bills to the city that would reveal to the public how much the case is costing.

“That can’t possibly be true. It just cannot be,” Clay said.

The city had already spent nearly $235,000 on the case as of May 31. The up-to-date cost is likely higher but unknowable due to the lack of invoices from the law firm.

Clay initially asked for $250,000 in back pay and reinstatement to her former job. It’s not clear what amount she’d be seeking in a settlement, but it would likely be higher to cover the legal work her own attorneys have done in the year and half since filing the lawsuit.

In court filings, the city’s attorneys have at-times implied Clay’s comments about the city’s transparency failures are hindering the possibility of settling the case.

In a July 15 letter to the judge overseeing the case, Ogletree attorney Jimmy F. Robinson Jr. said Clay has “continued to engage in public attacks against the city, including but not limited to disclosing documents to the press, selectively releasing attorney’s fee records and lodging public criticisms of the city’s internal operations.”

That conduct, Robinson wrote, is “emblematic of a litigant more interested in generating controversy than engaging in good-faith efforts to settle.”

Though it would be unusual for a mayor to sit down with someone actively suing the city, Clay said she hopes Avula — who campaigned largely on boosting accountability and transparency at City Hall — could meet with her to hear what she has to say on those issues.

“Let’s just cut through all the hearsay, all the optics, and have a discussion. This is an opportunity for city leadership to demonstrate openness and rebuild public trust,” Clay said. “My legal team and I remain fully prepared for the trial in June of 2026.”

Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org