Rep. Matt Manweller seeks $ 2M in damage from Washington Central University after firing

OLYMPIA – Washington State Representative Matt Manweller, R-Ellensburg, is seeking damages against Central Washington University and the investigator who reviewed the allegations against him for inappropriate behavior.

Earlier this week, the university fired Manweller, a professor there, after it closed its latest investigation into the allegations, whose details have not been published.

Manweller is seeking damages for the loss of current and future income, attorneys' fees and, among other things, emotional distress, according to the claim filed this week in the Superior Court of Kittitas County.

In a text message on Friday, Manweller said he is seeking at least $ 2 million and intends to voluntarily publish the university's research report next week. The university has estimated that it would launch the report around August 27.

A spokeswoman for the university, as well as Trish Murphy, the researcher hired by the university to review the allegations, declined to comment, citing the claim.

In a statement earlier this week announcing the termination of Manweller, the university wrote that "it is confident that the research report and the response from the University will fully address and validate the concerns of our students, and we thank them for their courage in coming. Go ahead. "

Among other things, Manweller's lawsuit alleges that the investigation was" a hoax "and that Murphy was" extremely biased "in order to find" any possible dirt that he could invent about the plaintiff ". .

The complaint also alleges that last December, the university told Manweller, through "a third party intermediary," that it could "immediately resign or face a dismissal that was an accomplished fact."

That purported exchange, along with the university's latest investigation, comes after a December report in The Seattle Times that detailed a couple of previous investigations after Manweller faced allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of students.

After that article, Manweller's first wife said she believed he was preparing her when she was a sophomore and he was a teacher at her school in Utah. The two married shortly after graduation, in June 2000.

The Times last December also reported on the account of a woman who worked in the Legislature and complained about Manweller's behavior.

Manweller, who is running for re-election to the Legislature, won approximately 64 percent of the votes in the August 7 primary elections.