Hughes Justice Complex, Trenton, New Jersey/photo by Carmen Natale

Katie Brennan, the high-ranking member of the administration of Gov. Phil Murphy who has accused another senior staffer of raping her, has filed a notice of claim with the state in order to preserve her right to sue the administration on allegations that it failed to take proper steps to handle the matter.

The notice, required under the state's Tort Claims Act, was filed on Dec. 28 by Brennan's attorney, Kathryn McClure of Smith Eibeler in Holmdel.

The filing was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Friday, and the Law Journal subsequently obtained a copy.

Along with the state and Murphy himself, the notice lists as potential defendants: Attorney General Gurbir Grewal; Murphy's chief of staff, Peter Cammarano; Chief Counsel Matt Platkin; Deputy Chief Counsel Parimal Garg; the Jersey City Police Department; the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office; and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

“[T]he state of New Jersey unlawfully, intentionally, negligently, and/or with reckless indifference retained Mr. Alvarez in state employment,” the notice says.

The notice was filed with the state's Office of Risk Management, which is under the aegis of the Attorney General's Office. A spokesman there, Leland Moore, declined to comment on the filing.

McClure did not return a call seeking comment.

Brennan, chief of staff at the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, has accused Albert Alvarez, who resigned as New Jersey Schools Development Authority chief of staff in October, of raping her while they both were working on Murphy's transition team in early 2017.

Alvarez, an attorney, has denied Brennan's allegations.

Brennan claims she hit multiple dead ends in reporting the assault to law enforcement, and the Murphy administration has come under fire for keeping Alvarez employed during the time since the alleged incident. Murphy, though, has claimed he learned of the allegations only when Alvarez resigned Oct. 2, according to reports.

The incident, and how it was handled by the fledgling Murphy administration, have been the subject of hearings by the New Jersey Legislative Select Oversight Committee, which is trying to determine how Alvarez managed to remain on the job until Brennan's allegations were first published by the Wall Street Journal.

The committee is set to meet twice during the week of Jan. 7, with Platkin and others expected to testify, according to reports.

The notice does not mean that Brennan will actually file a lawsuit.

New Jersey, like most states and jurisdictions, require that potential plaintiffs who are considering filing lawsuits against public agencies and officials provide them with advance notice.