The Hudson County Schools of Technology has paid $141,035.40 in legal fees since suspended Board Secretary Joey Muniz was suspended in November, with $46,103.50 being spent specifically on that litigation.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
This reporter filed an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request for the legal bills on April 7th, to which Acting Board Secretary Denise D’Alessandro replied on April 16th that further clarification was needed for the district to process the request.
“Please be advised that The Busch Law Group does not maintain a file specifically related to ‘Joseph Muniz vs. the Hudson County Schools of Technology’. Thus, records containing the specific information requested do not exist. However, The Busch Law Group does maintain a file which commingles the litigation matter and the personnel investigation,” she wrote.
“To the extent that you would like to receive information regarding the fees incurred by the Board related to that matter, please advise and the Board will proceed with responding to that request.”
After confirming that HCV would like a copy of the aforementioned file, D’Alessandro followed up yesterday with “a report maintained by the Board regarding all legal fees related to the requested matter for the period of November 2024 to present.”
She also noted that the district was on spring break between April 17th though April 28th.
The chart, embedded above, shows that the Busch Law Group (Jonathan Busch is the HSCT board counsel) was paid a total of $137,898.40 between November 30th, 2024 and March 31st, 2025, with $42,966.50 being spent on the Muniz lawsuit.
The Weiner Law Group, where partner Stephen Edelstein is one of the attorneys representing Muniz, was also paid $3,137 related to the litigation on February 28th. There is no explanation on what that payment was for.
Edelstein did not return an inquiry seeking comment on Wednesday.
Muniz filed a lawsuit over his November 25th suspension on December 6th, claiming retaliation and alleging an 18-year affair with Superintendent of Schools Amy Lin-Rodriguez, as HCV first reported.
Lin-Rodriguez, who has also been suspended, has since provided a scathing response and Busch said at the March 20th board meeting that the Muniz investigation is near a conclusion and settlement talks continue.
At that same meeting, the board approved a job posting for the superintendent of schools, which was necessary after they voted not to renew Lin-Rodriguez’s contract in January.
Additionally, Muniz filed a separate lawsuit on February 14th alleging that the HCST violated the Open Public Meeting Act in January 2024.
