Hamlet mayoral candidate Jesse McQueen’s day in court over accusations of maltreatment by the City of Hamlet will have to wait until another day.

A hearing for litigation between McQueen and the City of Hamlet was due to be heard Monday, but was pushed back until later this week.

The move comes to extend the time for parties to prepare their cases, if need be.

According to attorneys from both parties, the City of Hamlet prepared a brief for McQueen and his attorney, Wayne Robbins, on the afternoon of Oct. 22 and left it at his office.

According to Robbins, he was out of his office and unable to property look over what was sent.

Robbins says he did not have ample time to prepare a brief of his own for the case and asked the judge to grant extra time to prepare.

The brief should be completed by Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, Robbins said.

The extra time is not a continuation of a dismissal of the case.

“I told the judge we were ready to argue today,” Patricia Holland, the City of Hamlet’s head defense attorney said. “I was there and ready to go.”

The City of Hamlet is entering a motion for dismissal in the case.

The lawsuit brought against the City of Hamlet by McQueen states that McQueen was “constructively discharged” from his position with the Hamlet Police Department, but discharging of this sort is not recognized by the state.

As stated in an earlier article from the Daily Journal, being constructively discharged is the, “forced resignation due to grossly unacceptable or unlawful working conditions.”

“And this left Jesse (McQueen) no choice,” Robbins said.

The lawsuit has been continued multiple times since the initial filing in 2006, but in 2008 was dismissed by McQueen and his attorney.

McQueen’s intention was to let the lawsuit lie dormant and wait to see if conditions changed in the city, according to earlier reports.

According to McQueen they did not.

After a year-long window to re-file, McQueen did just that in June of this year.

“What had happened was unlawful and unjust,” McQueen said on Monday. “This proves that the City of Hamlet is still scared to go to court.”

According to Holland, an oral argument may or may not be necessary after the both parties submit their briefs to the judge.

After the judge receives both arguments he has the discretion to decide in favor of either party.

n Staff writer Bryan Stewart can be reached at 997-3111 etc. 15, or by e-mail at bstewart@yourdailyjournal.com