Ex-MCC president's suit dismissed

A whistleblower and retaliation lawsuit filed by the former president of Mesalands Community College after he was fired two years ago was dismissed after both parties filed a motion to do so.

Ninth Judicial District Judge David Reeb of Clovis on May 5 granted a joint motion to dismiss John Groesbeck’s lawsuit with prejudice, which means the suit cannot be refiled at a later date. The New Mexico Supreme Court appointed Reeb to the case after 10th Judicial District Judge Albert Mitchell Jr. of Tucumcari recused himself.

Andrea Mora, a legal assistant for Kennedy, Hernandez & Associates law firm in Albuquerque that represented Groesbeck in his lawsuit, stated in an email Thursday “the parties have reached a settlement in the case and agreed to dismiss the case as part of that settlement.”

She did not elaborate on terms of the settlement.

Groesbeck could not be reached for comment.

Mesalands’ vice president of communications, Josh McVey, stated Thursday he was unaware of any settlement.

“As of today we have no confirmation that it has been settled and we do not have a copy of the alleged settlement,” McVey wrote.

The Quay County Sun, citing state open-records laws, has requested a copy of the settlement from the college when it is available.

The college’s legal firm is Cuddy & McCarthy of Santa Fe. An email to the firm requesting comment on the case was not answered.

Groesbeck’s lawsuit originally was scheduled to go to trial in Quay County in February 2023.

The Mesalands Community College board of trustees placed Groesbeck on paid administrative leave in March 2020 for undisclosed reasons and fired him next month. Groesbeck had been president of Mesalands for less than two years.

The college continued to pay Groesbeck his $170,000-a-year salary through June 30, 2020 — more than two months after his contract was terminated.

In his eight-page lawsuit filed later that year, Groesbeck stated he confronted the college’s foundation members, several of whom are on the board of trustees, at a meeting on March 3, 2020, about allegations of improper distribution of federal grant funds, fraudulent property leases and improper appropriation of money to the Mesalands Dinosaur Museum.

The college denied Groesbeck’s allegations. The college’s auditor, Marty Mathisen, also disputed Groesbeck’s claims about property leases and funding appropriations.

The Mesalands board in May 2021 hired Gregory Todd Busch to succeed Groesbeck as president.