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Judge chides Boston on lawsuit over Everett casino

A rendering of the proposed Wynn Resorts casino in Everett.Wynn Resorts/AP

A Suffolk Superior Court judge rebuked the Walsh administration Monday for using litigation as a public relations tool in Boston’s ongoing battle with the state Gaming Commission and gambling magnate Steve Wynn’s planned casino in Everett.

In a two-page order, Superior Court Judge Janet L. Sanders said the administration violated court rules when it filed documents last month listing what the city’s lawyers contended were “bad faith” acts and “improper behavior’’ in the Everett licensing process.

Sanders wrote that the city did not follow court rules when it included the assertions in the amended the paperwork just hours before a July 10 hearing before Sanders — without letting the parties in the litigation review the documents.

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“These pleadings were wholly unrelated to the matter scheduled for the hearing,’’ Sanders wrote. “The pleadings were entirely improper.’’

Sanders wrote that the administration’s actions were so far beyond the rules that she was going to order the anti-Wynn paperwork removed from the public file on the lawsuit.

“Although the materials have already been released to the media before the hearing (indeed, that seemed to be the real motive for these filings), they do not belong in the public file of this case,’’ Sanders wrote. “This Court orders that these pleadings together with their attached exhibits be impounded.’’

Sanders said the issue may surface later in the litigation, but she will not make it part of the public record until the city properly files them.

Following the judge’s ruling, the state gambling commission filed for the dismissal of the case.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh declined an interview request, but in a statement his office said the mayor “continues to believe that Boston is a host community to the planned casino and his top priority is to protect the rights of Boston’s public.”

“The effects the casino will have on the neighborhood of Charlestown are enormous and, after significant effort to reach an agreement, it became clear that pursuing litigation was the only way to move forward,” the statement said.

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Sanders’ criticism follows a harshly worded court filing by US Attorney Carmen Ortiz’s office, which said that the city “spewed and spun” rumors into false allegations of serious misconduct by two retired State Police superior officers.

Ortiz’s filing was a sharp rebuke to Walsh, who has pursued an aggressive legal strategy to halt the proposed $1.7 billion Wynn Resorts casino just over the city line in Everett.

In its lawsuits, the city alleges that the retired officers were working on behalf of Wynn in 2013 when they improperly gained access to confidential files at the state attorney general’s office concerning Charles A. Lightbody.

At the time, that office was conducting a criminal investigation of Lightbody, a convicted felon who at one time owned an interest in the parcel of land in Everett now planned as the site of the casino.

Federal prosecutors flatly deny in the seven-page filing any wrongdoing by the pair of retired officers, and attached sworn statements from each to back up the denial.


Sean P. Murphy of the Globe staff contributed to this report. John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe. Andrew Ryan can be reached at acryan@globe.com Follow him on Twitter @GlobeAndrewRyan.