The Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corp. has agreed to a $6 million settlement of its claims against law firm Trenk, DiPasquale, Della Fera & Sodono, which was its counsel during a period of widespread corruption and patronage in the agency.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Vincent Papalia, who is overseeing Chapter 11 proceedings for the now-defunct watershed agency, will consider approving the settlement in a Dec. 17 hearing, according to court documents.

If approved, the settlement would end claims for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty brought in June 2016 by the agency against Trenk DiPasquale, which is no longer active, and two attorneys—Elnardo Webster II, former general counsel to the watershed, and Jodi Luciani, who worked closely with Webster.

The adversary action against Trenk DiPasquale, Webster and Luciani claimed the lawyers failed to address ongoing misconduct by leadership at the watershed, which was formed to protect 35,000 acres of land surrounding reservoirs owned by the city of Newark.

The suit said Webster and Luciani "were aware or should have been aware of the repeated misappropriations, unlawful no-bid contracts and general waste of NWCDC assets. By failing to properly and effectively advise the NWCDC Board and by failing to otherwise act to protect the assets of the NWCDC, Webster, Luciani and the Trenk Firm breached the duties of loyalty and competence imposed on them as part of their retention agreement and employment as counsel to the NWCDC," the suit claimed.

The settlement agreement was reached after three mediation sessions with Jose Linares, the former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, who is now with McCarter & English in Newark, according to Daniel Stolz of Wasserman, Jurista & Stolz in Basking Ridge, who is bankruptcy counsel to the watershed.

"We had hoped to recover more, but in light of the complexity of the litigation, we felt this was a prudent settlement," Stolz said.

The watershed's former executive director, Linda Watkins-Brashear, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison in 2017 for her role in a $1 million scheme in which she approved inflated contracts in exchange for kickbacks. Watkins-Brashear once billed the agency $1,400 for a dinner for 20 that included lobster, cognac and margaritas, according to a 2014 report from the state comptroller.

Linares was familiar with the watershed case because as a judge he also sentenced Watkins-Brashear, Stolz noted.

William O'Connor Jr. of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter in Morristown, who represented Trenk DiPasquale, Webster and Luciani, declined to comment on the proposed settlement.

The watershed's $6 million tentative settlement with Trenk DiPasquale, if approved, is far greater than the $1 million the agency received in 2016 from another law firm that represented it, Genova Burns of Newark.

Webster and Luciani provided representation to the watershed agency from 2007 to 2014. They were affiliated with Trenk DiPasquale from 2007 to 2012 and with Genova Burns of Newark from 2012 to 2014.

Trenk DiPasquale merged with McManimon Scotland & Baumann of Roseland in 2018.