Latest news with #wrongful termination
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Attorney for Hopewell vice mayor says lawsuit based on 'political disagreement,' not misconduct
Calling it 'political disagreement, not actionable misconduct,' the attorney for Hopewell Vice Mayor Rita Joyner has asked a federal court to throw out former Hopewell City Manager Concetta Manker's almost $7 million wrongful termination lawsuit against Joyner. The paperwork was filed Aug. 8 in U.S. District Court in Richmond at the same time that the city of Hopewell filed its own motions to dismiss the suit. Manker, who was fired May 1 along with City Clerk Brittani Williams, filed the suit July 7 and is asking for a total of $6.85 million in damages, including punitive damages against Joyner, Mayor Johnny Partin Jr., and councilors Ronnie Ellis of Ward 4 and Susan Daye of Ward 5. Manker accuses Joyner of racism, citing several examples where the vice mayor reportedly said that Manker, who is Black, was 'Blacking up the city' by hiring people of color as major department heads. She also claims Joyner defamed her by calling her 'incompetent' in a 2024 email and stating that she hoped to get enough votes from the results of that November's election to have Manker fired. All four councilors who voted to fire Manker are White. Because Joyner was singled out for more than the others, she had to hire her own attorney and file a separate response. Joyner is represented by Virginia Beach-based attorney Anne Lahren. More: Judge continues Hopewell treasurer's case after her attorney asks to withdraw Vice mayor acted within 'authority' In the lawsuit, Manker cited Joyner for racism, defamation and blocking due process. In her response, Joyner's attorney said the vice mayor was acting totally within her authority as a Hopewell elected official and as one of seven people to whom the city manager is directly accountable. 'Joyner exercised her authority as an elected official to criticize Plaintiff's performance and advocate for a change in leadership consistent with the will of the voters,' the response stated. 'Plaintiff repeatedly characterizes Joyner's conduct as 'thwarting' her initiatives, opposing her policies, and expressing negative views about her job performance. These allegations, even if true, reflect political disagreement, not actionable misconduct.' None of Manker's allegations are 'a matter of law,' the response said. "The Complaint fails to allege facts sufficient to establish racial animus, deprivation of a protected property or liberty interest, or actionable defamatory statements,' it read. 'Moreover, Joyner's actions as an elected official – expressing criticism, participating in governance decisions, and communicating with constituents and the press about matters of public concern – are fully protected under both constitutional and state law doctrines, including qualified immunity and the First Amendment.' Because Manker's allegations represent 'disagreement with the political and policy choices of the City's duly elected leadership, rather than any legally cognizable wrongdoing,' the suit should be dismissed, according to the response. More: 'Sad and difficult case': First of 3 suspects in Hopewell child's shooting death sentenced Mirrors Hopewell's response Joyner's response jibes with the official position of Hopewell in the case. That response, filed by City Attorney Anthony Bessette, calls the allegations 'nothing more than legal conclusions, or where the allegations permit a court to infer no more than a possibility of misconduct. It stated that Manker was terminated because she 'was not performing at a level that met the City's legitimate expectations.' As for the claims of racism, the city's response called them 'flimsy. 'The race of the decision makers does not give rise to an inference of discrimination,' it read. 'This is particularly true where the same four councilors who voted to terminate Dr. Manker's employment voted to hire Michael Rogers, an African American male, to be the Interim City Manager. Because Dr. Manker was not replaced by someone outside of her protected class, there is no inference of race discrimination.' While the lawsuit alleges that Ellis blew 'a racist dog whistle' when he circulated campaign flyers saying it was time 'to take back our city,' it also claimed he improperly made the motion to reconsider a February vote to terminate Manker because he walked out of the meeting. Ellis is a battalion chief with the Hopewell Fire Department, and in that position, Manker claimed he directly reported to her; therefore, his motion was a violation of conflict-of-interest. Hopewell claims that Manker's termination was permissible because her contract was not originally in violation of the act. Virginia's Conflict-of-Interest Act [COIA] states that only contracts and purchases that run afoul of COIA can only be voided, and it is silent on any other legal transactions. 'The termination of Dr. Manker's contract is neither a contract nor a purchase made in violation of COIA,' the city's response said. 'Therefore, even if the vote violated COIA, the vote is not void or voidable.' No dates have been set for preliminary hearings on the lawsuit. Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Hopewell officials respond to former city manager's federal lawsuit Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Gina Carano thanks Elon Musk for ‘funding' lawsuit after Disney settles dispute over ‘Mandalorian' firing
Star Wars actress Gina Carano has thanked tech billionaire Elon Musk for 'funding' her wrongful termination lawsuit against Disney and its film production company Lucasfilm after settling a dispute over her 2021 firing from the hit show 'The Mandalorian.' Carano filed the lawsuit in a federal court in California last year, claiming she was dropped from 'The Mandalorian" for expressing right-wing views on social media. 'I want to extend my deepest most heartfelt gratitude to Elon Musk, @elonmusk a man I've never met, who did this Good Samaritan deed for me in funding my lawsuit. Thank you Mr. Musk and @X for backing my case and asking for nothing in return,' Carano wrote on X Thursday. She added: 'I am excited to flip the page and move onto the next chapter. My desires remain in the arts, which is where I hope you will join me.' It appears, at least from a public perspective, despite the lawsuit, Carano and Disney have left things amicable with its film company leaving the door open for the 43-year-old actress to make a return. 'Ms. Carano was always well respected by her directors, co-stars and staff, and she worked hard to perfect her craft while treating her colleagues with kindness and respect,' Lucasfilm said in an unsigned statement. It continued: 'With this lawsuit concluded, we look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future.' The specific terms of the settlement are unclear. The two sides stipulated in a federal court filing Thursday the case should be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can't be refiled. A judge still needs to formally dismiss it. The case had been scheduled to go to trial in Los Angeles next February. The lawsuit alleged Carano was wrongfully terminated from the Disney+ series after two seasons due to a post likening the treatment of American conservatives to the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany. Her posts were widely criticized online and spurred a trending #FireGinaCarano hashtag. The suit had alleged that the actress was fired because she 'dared voice her own opinions' against an 'online bully mob who demanded her compliance with their extreme progressive ideology.' Carano is a former mixed martial artist who played the recurring character Cara Dune on the show, which launched in 2019 and ran for three seasons. A feature film starring Pedro Pascal and Sigourney Weaver, 'The Mandalorian and Grogu,' is set for release next summer. Carano had previously been criticized for mocking mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic and making false allegations of voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
Reuters
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Ex-DOJ employees sue Bondi for wrongful termination
July 25 (Reuters) - Three former Justice Department employees, including a lawyer who prosecuted people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, have filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the Trump administration. Plaintiffs Michael Gordon, Patricia Hartman and Joseph Tirrell said their respective terminations by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi violated federal civil service protections. They were each handed a one-page memo between late June and early July informing them of their firing. "No cause, let alone a proper merit-based one, or required due process was provided to Plaintiffs with respect to their termination and removal," the plaintiffs said in their lawsuit, opens new tab, filed Thursday in D.C. federal court. Bondi, the Justice Department and the Executive Office of the President were named as defendants in the lawsuit. A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment. A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The three plaintiffs are represented by a group of lawyers, including Abbe Lowell, a former Winston & Strawn partner who earlier this year launched his own firm, Mark Zaid and Bradley Moss of Mark S. Zaid P.C., and Norman Eisen of Democracy Defenders Fund. "The DOJ employees at the center of this case served with distinction, followed the law, not politics, and were fired for it," Lowell said in a statement. The Justice Department since January has been dismissing employees who worked on matters involving Trump or his supporters, citing Trump's executive powers under the U.S. Constitution. Gordon was an assistant U.S. attorney who worked in the Middle District of Florida; from November 2021 to December 2023, he was the senior trial counsel to the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office's Capitol Siege Section. Hartman was a supervisory public affairs specialist working out of the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office when she was terminated. The lawsuit said Hartman was "the primary official handling public affairs work specific to the government's prosecution" of Jan. 6 cases. Tirrell was the director of DOJ's departmental ethics office.
