After a lull of nearly a year, activity in the lawsuit of a Watertown man shot by an off-duty city police officer is again picking up speed.

"We're just starting to heat the case up again," said Steven W. Williams, a Syracuse attorney representing Ryan T. Dorr, who was shot three times in December 2004 by police officer Michael K. VanWaldick.

Contributing to the litigation delay was Mr. Williams's representation of a Mexican businessman in a defamation suit in New York City. In January, a jury awarded Mr. Williams's client a $188 million verdict, which is under appeal. Meanwhile, Mr. Dorr's case has risen to the top of the pile.

"We're now refocusing on this," Mr. Williams said Friday.

Mr. Dorr sued the city of Watertown in August 2005 claiming, in part, the city failed to supervise VanWaldick properly and was negligent in his hiring.

VanWaldick was accused of climbing a ladder to enter Mr. Dorr's second-floor LeRay Street apartment and shooting him Dec. 8, 2004, while the officer was off duty. He then kidnapped his former girlfriend, Jessica S. Quinta, from the Dorr residence and took her to a residence in the town of Adams. He also stole a vehicle on the day of the shooting.

At the time of the shooting, city police were investigating a Dec. 5, 2004, incident in which VanWaldick allegedly threatened Miss Quinta at Mr. Dorr's place of employment, Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar on Arsenal Street. Police acknowledged that two previous incidents, one in which VanWaldick allegedly used force to keep Miss Quinta from leaving his residence and a second in which he allegedly abducted her from a Newell Street parking lot, were handled administratively.

The state Commission of Investigation reviewed the VanWaldick incidents and issued a report in July 2006 that was highly critical of the department's handling of VanWaldick's conduct in the months leading up to the shooting.

Mr. Dorr's lawsuit became bogged down in late 2006 after Mr. Williams accused the city of stonewalling his requests for records. He filed a motion in state Supreme Court in January 2007 seeking an order compelling the city to turn over all of its records regarding VanWaldick, including his personnel records.

In March 2007, Judge Hugh A. Gilbert ordered the city to turn over most of the information requested by Mr. Williams, but ruled that VanWaldick's personnel records were to remain confidential as required under Civil Rights Law.

Mr. Williams continued to maintain the personnel records were relevant to Mr. Dorr's case and, in June, Judge Gilbert ordered the city to turn over the records for an in-chamber review to determine what materials could be provided to Mr. Dorr.

Mr. Williams said Friday that the city has since provided him with "a voluminous amount of documents."

"They turned it all over, and it was tons of stuff. It's going to help us," he said.

He said he is now scheduling depositions of "a long list of folks," although he remains uncertain how many of the people ultimately will be deposed.

Mr. Williams had said in January that he thought the case could be brought to trial in late summer or early fall, but he now says that projection was optimistic. He said he likely will file a trial note of issue in September, essentially indicating to the city he is prepared to proceed to trial. The trial date would be determined by the court.

VanWaldick, 29, pleaded guilty in August 2005 in Jefferson County Court to second-degree attempted murder, second-degree kidnapping and fourth-degree grand larceny. He is serving a 15-year sentence at Clinton Correctional Facility, Dannemora.