DETROIT — Former Michigan assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell is claiming in a new lawsuit filed in federal court, that prominent Detroit attorney Deborah Gordon used information she had gathered from prior cases in an effort question his professional behavior and reputation, a move Shirvell contends led to his firing.
It is the latest in a flurry of litigation between Shirvell and Chris Armstrong, the openly gay former University of Michigan student body president, whom Gordon is representing.
Shirvell filed the lawsuit late Friday in U.S. District Court, and is seeking more than $75,000 in damages, reported the Detroit Free-Press.
Armstrong has sued Shirvell for defamation for statements Shirvell made on a website attacking Armstrong because he is gay.
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For six months, Shirvell waged an online campaign against Armstrong, and used his blog to continuously attack and harass Armstrong, calling him a “racist, elitist and liar,” and “Satan’s representative on the student assembly.”
Armstrong was the first openly gay student body president at U-M during his term last year, and has since graduated. Armstrong’s suit claims Shirvell “developed a bizarre personal obsession” with him in early 2010 after claiming the student was a radical homosexual activist.
Both Armstrong and Gordon have also asked the state bar to strip Shirvell’s law license. Shirvell has counter-sued Armstrong, and followed that with the suit now against Gordon.
“As my complaint makes clear, I have uncovered a significant amount of information during the past year that shows that Deborah Gordon has deliberately set out to destroy me by any means necessary,” Shirvell said in a news release.
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In November 2010, Shirvell was fired for “abusing” the powers of his office, for using his work computer to write his blog and for lying to investigators.
“Shirvell has a history of trying desperately to smear people, so this is no surprise,” Gordon said on Tuesday. “His complaint is absurd and without any factual or legal basis.”
Shirvell recently lost a motion in federal court seeking to have a good chunk of Armstrong’s suit against him tossed out.
