Concerns over fire department staffing and alleged retaliation have led four part-time firefighters to file a federal lawsuit against Grand Blanc Township and its superintendent, claiming their rights to free speech were violated when they advocated for increased staffing levels. The complaint was filed on April 13, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by Alexander Newton, Alfred Perry, Ryan Jeltema, and Jakob Stifferman against Grand Blanc Township and Superintendent Dennis Liimatta.
According to the court filing, all four plaintiffs are current part-time employees of the Grand Blanc Township Fire Department. They allege that after publicly supporting Fire Chief Jamie Jent’s efforts to hire more full-time firefighters—a move they say would improve safety for township residents—they faced adverse employment actions from township officials. The lawsuit states that the number of full-time and part-time firefighters in the department is far below industry standards set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), which recommends at least 61 full-time firefighters for a community of Grand Blanc Township’s size.
The dispute escalated following an incident on September 28, 2025, when an attack at a local church required emergency response from an understaffed fire department. Only five Grand Blanc Township firefighters responded to the call, according to the complaint, forcing reliance on crews from surrounding municipalities. In response to this event and ongoing concerns about staffing levels, Chief Jent continued his campaign for additional full-time positions. Plaintiffs claim that their public support for these efforts—including communications on social media and discussions with other residents—prompted resistance from Superintendent Liimatta and other township officials.
The lawsuit details how Plaintiffs exercised their First Amendment rights as private citizens by discussing fire department understaffing and efforts to terminate Chief Jent’s employment. As stated in the filing: “Plaintiffs exercised their 1 Amendment right to free speech and communicated on social media, to friends, family members and other township residents that the township was trying to terminate Chief Jent over his desire to have appropriate staffing levels for full-time firefighters.”
Following public outcry over Chief Jent’s possible termination—which included hundreds of concerned residents attending an October 28, 2025 meeting—the plaintiffs allege that Defendants retaliated by changing hiring procedures for full-time firefighter positions. According to the complaint: “Defendants changed the methods for hiring a full-time firefighter so that Plaintiffs would not even qualify to take the test.” Previously qualified applicants were now excluded from consideration under new rules that also opened applications to candidates outside of the department.
The plaintiffs argue these changes were made specifically in retaliation for their protected speech regarding matters of public concern: “Defendants’ actions were taking [sic] to exclude Plaintiffs from being promoted to a full-time position in retaliation for Plaintiffs exercising their First Amendment right to Free Speech.” The complaint further alleges that such actions constitute violations under both federal law (42 U.S.C. §1983) and state law (Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act), resulting in economic losses, emotional distress, loss of career opportunities, damage to reputation, and other harms.
The legal filing seeks judgment against both Grand Blanc Township and Superintendent Liimatta “for all damages to which they are entitled…including but not necessarily limited to economic damages, non-economic damages, exemplary damages, punitive damages, cost interest and attorney’s fees.” The plaintiffs have demanded a jury trial on all issues allowed by law.
Attorney Scott P. Batey of Batey Law Firm represents all four plaintiffs in this case (Case No. 2:26-cv-11190-BRM-EAS).
Source: 226cv11190_Alexander_Newton_v_Grand_Blanc_Complaint_Eastern_District_of_Michigan.pdf
