Firm urges Poplar Bluff against lawsuit

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A law firm hired by municipal officials said suing a former city manager and information technology company wouldn't be cost-effective.

"If the City filed a civil lawsuit against ISI, its manager, Ryan Leestma, and/or Heath Kaplan, the public and the press' desire for justice might be satisfied, but the economic cost of litigation would outweigh its practicality," wrote then-Husch Blackwell partner Jeff Jensen in an August 2017 document.

Emails between fired city manager Heath Kaplan and Ryan Leestma, owner of Michigan-based Information Systems Intelligence, discuss "rearranged" pricing on equipment to meet criteria for no-bid contracts, according to a letter from Husch Blackwell, the law firm hired by the city to review potential legal action against ISI and/or Kaplan.

The city council approved approximately $3.5 million in no-bid contracts with ISI in 2014, under Kaplan's direction.

The no-bid contracts were allowed, Kaplan said in 2014, because ISI agreed to match or beat prices negotiated by the Western States Contracting Alliance-National Association of State Procurement Officials.

After city officials entered into a contract with ISI, costs began to pile up and overrun the agreed-upon amounts.

ISI refused to provide supplier invoices paid by the contractor, the attorney said.

Kaplan and Leestma are also set Feb. 15 for a pre-trial settlement conference in a lawsuit involving Muskegon County, Michigan. Kaplan worked for Muskegon County before coming to Poplar Bluff and oversaw technology purchases between ISI and the county.

Muskegon County has alleged ISI overbilled the county for millions of dollars. The county accused Kaplan of conspiring with ISI for financial gain, saying he received a personal loan and help with a home mortgage.

Muskegon's lawsuit was brought after it was taken to court by ISI for approximately $3 million the tech provider says it is owed under previous contracts.