Llano County, former librarian Suzette Baker reach settlement in wrongful termination suit
While the county and Baker have tentatively agreed to the "material terms" of the settlement, details will not be made public until they are finalized, Baker's attorney told the American-Statesman.
"We are pleased that defendants were willing to resolve this matter relatively early on in the litigation," said attorney Iris Halpern of Rathod Mohamedbhai, a firm based in Colorado, in response to an inquiry from the Statesman.
The tentative agreement signals the end of a yearlong legal battle in U.S. District Court between Baker and Llano County officials, whom she accused of firing her in 2022 because she refused to pull library materials that a group of conservative activists had deemed inappropriate for children, some of which focused on race and LGBTQ+ experiences.
The county eventually removed 17 books, ranging from the children's book 'I Broke My Butt!' to the nonfiction work 'Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent.' Outside of Baker's lawsuit, the county is still facing a federal First Amendment lawsuit over the book removals. The book removal campaign and resulting litigation have drawn national attention to Llano, a rural Texas community in the Hill Country about 80 miles northwest of Austin.
The settlement announcement comes a day before a documentary film about Baker's story will be featured in the South by Southwest festival. Showings will take place Saturday and Sunday in Austin.
Baker, a 57-year-old veteran and mother of five adult children, has worked as a cashier at a hardware store for the past year.
In August, an Austin federal judge denied the county's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, making clear that officials would have to settle or take the case to trial.
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman wrote in the August order that Baker had plausible claims for First Amendment retaliation, wrongful termination and employment discrimination.
The parties will notify the court of a final settlement and ask for the case to be dismissed within 45 days, as per Thursday's filing.
Baker had sought back pay, attorney's fees and an injunction ordering the county to cease behavior that discriminates against minorities and suppresses residents' First Amendment rights in the lawsuit.
The defendants in the case — the county, the Commissioners Court, the county's library director and several community activists who were appointed to the Library Advisory Board during the push for book removals — had categorically rejected Baker's claims for legal relief in their June 4 motion to dismiss the suit.
Llano County did not immediately respond to the Statesman's request for comment.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas county settles with librarian who sued over book-removal firing
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