Mayor says his lawsuit is not over

By Charles Sercombe
Mayor Adam Alharbi struck out in court attempting to put a halt to the firing of former city manager Adel Al-Adlani.
But the legal fight is not over, Alharbi told The Review.
“While the court denied our request for a temporary pause, let’s be clear: this lawsuit is far from over, and the core of our case hasn’t even been tried yet,” Alharbi said.
Al-Adlani had been on the job for only four months. Mayor Alharbi championed his hiring despite Al-Adlani having no experience as a city manager.
In a contentious city council meeting on June 9, the mayor attempted to prevent a resolution to fire Al-Adlani from being included on the council agenda as a late add-on to the council agenda as the meeting began.
That resulted in a 40-minute argument about whether adding on the item so late was a violation of the city charter.
The mayor eventually relented, allowing the resolution to be added, and the council later agreed to fire the city manager, at the behest of Councilmember Mohammed Hassan, although no reason was given for the firing.
Alharbi didn’t stop there. Several days after the meeting, he held a press conference in Zussman Park, across the street from city hall, along with his attorney, Nabih Ayad, to blast the council’s action.
Former city manager Al-Adlani has since filed a lawsuit against the city over his firing.
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Leslie Kim Smith denied Alharbi’s emergency motion to suspend the firing until his full lawsuit could be heard.
Judge Smith rejected the four reasons cited in Alharbi’s lawsuit arguing why the council violated the city charter.
Alharbi’s main point was the city charter provision that gives only him and the city manager the authority to set the agenda. But Judge Smith noted that the council’s own rules allow exceptions to include last-minute items on an agenda.
That exception requires at least two-thirds support from councilmembers. Only Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury objected to the last-minute inclusion of the Al-Adlani firing.
In her reasoning, Judge Smith said that the council’s rules prevail over the city charter.
“This begs the question, what is the purpose of a rule that allows the council to suspend the rules, if it is not allowed to take action after the suspension?” Judge Smith said.
A suspension of the rules in this manner has become a common practice of councilmembers seeking to call for a vote to add a new item to the agenda, which requires a two-thirds vote of approval.
The council commonly calls for a “suspension of the law” when taking this action.
Alharbi’s lawsuit puts City Attorney Odey Meroueh in the seemingly awkward position of being an adversary of the mayor.
It comes at a time when the mayor is trying to seek bids for legal services because of increasing legal fees.
In defense, Meroueh said the city’s legal bills keep piling up because of past actions by the mayor and council.
Alharbi is funding his own attorney, but Meroueh is paid by taxpayers.
Although Alharbi says there is more to come in his lawsuit, Judge Smith seemed to cast doubt it would gain traction.
One of the headings in her ruling on a key part of Alharbi’s lawsuit read: “Plaintiff (Alharbi) has not proven he is likely to prevail on the merits” of his claims.
City Attorney Meroueh underscored the meaning of the ruling:
“The case is not over, but the ruling speaks for itself. They asked the court to undo the Council’s decision, and the court declined on all four factors, including their likelihood of success on the merits. That is not a technicality; that is the court weighing their case and finding it unlikely to prevail.”
Alharbi told The Review that there is more at stake than the firing of the city manager. He said he filed his lawsuit “because the public is tired of last-minute resolutions being ambushed onto meeting agendas for narrow personal interests.”
Alharbi continued:
“Residents deserve to know what their local government is voting on before the gavel comes down, not after. We need transparency, proper notice, and respect for the rules.
“This is about making sure city hall works for the people of Hamtramck, not a select few behind closed doors, and we are going to keep fighting this battle as the lawsuit moves forward.”
Posted July 24, 2026