DETROIT -- Attorney Godfrey Dillard is suing the Detroit City Council in efforts to block the Council from holding a forfeiture hearing against Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, but the case does not list Kilpatrick as a plaintiff. Instead it lists the city of Detroit.

City Council attorney Bill Goodman said he believes that the omission of Kilpatrick's name hides who is really behind the lawsuit.

"It's really the mayor behind the scenes -- pulling the strings and saying the council's actions are inappropriate," he said.

Goodman said that by not putting Kilpatrick's name down as the plaintiff, he wouldn't be bound by a judge's decision.

Dillard said the lawsuit was filed on behalf of Detroit citizens and he is litigating to uphold the council's charter.

City Council will be holding forfeiture hearings on August 18. Council accuses Kilpatrick of not disclosing a confidentiality agreement linked to an $8.4 million whistle-blowers' settlement.

Judge Robert Ziolkowski will rule on the motion Wednesday. However, he will not decide until next month on the bigger issue -- does the council have the legal authority to remove Kilpatrick, or is the charter language not clear enough to rule on that distinction?

Kilpatrick faces a Sept. 22 preliminary examination in district court on perjury and other charges stemming from testimony he gave at the whistle-blowers' trial.