Lawsuit alleges defamation by mother of Wilkinsburg mayor

A data analyst working for Wilkinsburg is suing the mayor’s mother, alleging her Facebook posts railing against the position amount to defamation and libel, according to the lawsuit.

Kate Luxemburg filed the lawsuit against Beverly Garrett in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday. Beverly Garrett is the mother of Wilkinsburg Mayor Marita Garrett.

Luxemburg said in the suit that she was hired in September to serve as a property data consultant by the borough. Her job duties include identifying blighted properties and helping to manage tax delinquency and forgiveness analysis — all with an aim of curing blight and improving the tax rolls.

In a Dec. 2 Facebook post, Beverly Garrett accused the borough council of mismanaging money and defunding “other (borough) departments including the police to cover up that they are operating in a deficit due to faulting contracts and illegal union negotiations.”

The post specifically mentions “hiring friends like Kate Luxemburg, who hasn’t paid taxes in 20 (years) to be a tax consultant.”

According to the Allegheny County Department of Court Records, more than five dozen tax claims have been filed against Luxemburg by Allegheny County and the Borough of Wilkinsburg between 2002 and 2014.

On Dec. 14, Luxemburg’s attorney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Beverly Garrett, which prompted another Facebook post. This post referenced the letter, and she indicated “I’m being very cautious in my wording.”

“In my opinion, the only thing Kate can advise anyone on is how NOT to pay taxes,” Beverly Garrett wrote. “Even worse, there’s indication that Kate is using the fake position to swindle low income, at-risk homeowners (Blacks) out of their homes.”

It went on to say that Luxemburg may have been advising people who were delinquent on their taxes to sell their homes to her to avoid foreclosure.

“One homeowner possibly fell victim to her scam,” the post reads.

The posts, Luxemburg alleges, suggest she is unfit for her position and guilty of criminal conduct.

The lawsuit indicated Luxemburg believes Beverly Garrett is “receiving her information from her daughter, the mayor.

“Out of consideration for the Mayor,” the lawsuit reads, “Plaintiff has not named her as the source of the information leading to her mother’s libelous, defamatory outbursts, but Plaintiff does reserve the right to establish this through discovery and to add Mayor Garrett as a defendant if appropriate in the future”

The lawsuit seeks to have the alleged defamatory posts removed from social media, for Beverly Garrett to be barred from making libelous comments and for her to pay her legal fees.

Marita Garrett said on Tuesday evening that the work Luxemburg was hired to do is already done by the borough’s delinquent tax collector.

She also questioned the wisdom of hiring Luxemburg at the same time when Wilkinsburg council voted to defund the library.

“I’ve been very vocal about my disapproval about how they’ve been handling our budget and personnel,” Marita Garrett said. “There are differences in leadership and commitment in serving the community between the governing bodies.”

Council President Pamela Macklin did not return a message seeking comment.