Aug. 03--A federal judge this week reversed a jury's ruling on a successful employment discrimination lawsuit filed against the city of Pullman.
The lawsuit was filed in 2011 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington by a group of firefighters who accused the city of retaliating against them when they stepped forward to defend Capt. Eric Reiber. Reiber had been accused of sexual harassment in 2009 by a female firefighter. A Spokane jury ruled in favor of the firefighters in April, and awarded $325,000 to Reiber and $135,000 each to five other firefighters.
Thursday's decision by U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice tossed out the jury's decision, said Seattle attorney Michael Bolasina, who represented the city and the estate of former Fire Chief Pat Wilkins. Wilkins died of cancer in November. Former Pullman City Supervisor John Sherman and human resources manager Karen Sires were also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Bolasina said he filed a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law on behalf of the city following the April verdict, arguing the firefighters failed to prove their claim of retaliation.
The judge agreed.
"In sum, the evidence simply cannot support a finding that Chief Wilkins retaliated against Reiber for attending the Oct. 21, 2008, meeting and/or for his subsequent counseling of (Chelsey) Tadema," he wrote, referring to the female firefighter who levied the complaint against Reiber. "While the evidence was arguably sufficient to support a finding that Chief Wilkins retaliated against Reiber for other reasons, it was insufficient to prove that he did so for any reason prohibited by the (Washington State Law Against Discrimination). The jury's finding to the contrary was not a reasonable interpretation of the evidence."
Bolasina said the plaintiffs have not yet received any money from the lawsuit. He said they can, and "almost certainly will" appeal Rice's decision.
The 47-page opinion can be viewed on the All Points Bulletin blog at lmtribune.com.
Gaboury may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 848-2275. Follow him on Twitter @KevinGaboury.
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