An attorney defending the Brandon School District against a lawsuit by former employee June Wuopio has filed a motion to dismiss the case.
Daniel J. Kelly, representing the Brandon Board of Education, aka Brandon School District, and Superintendent Tom Miller, along with Marian Horowitz, current Boardmember Beth Nuccio and former Boardmembers Ken Quisenberry and Gina Muzzarelli, submitted a 25-page document last month to United States District Judge Sean Cox. Kelly argues that the facts and law do not support Wuopio’s contention that the defendants violated her constitutional rights of freedom of speech and procedural due process.
In the motion, Kelly acknowledged that Wuopio, the former community education director, was investigated after her staff complained of her poor performance, was reprimanded, had her position terminated due to financial restraints, transferred into another position and, rather than having the board vote to terminate her employment after serious infractions came to light, resigned. However, he says it is ‘disingenuous for the plaintiff to contend that these actions were the result of plaintiff’s speech.?
The lawsuit, filed Feb. 21, 2008, claims that harassment against Wuopio, a 25-year employee of the district, began after she voluntarily took part in a community-based committee to evaluate two superintendent candidates. Wuopio was in favor of a candidate who was not hired and her personal views, stated during a special meeting in February 2005, were not welcomed, said her attorney, Sarah Prescott.
The motion for dismissal, however, notes that numerous employees that also spoke in favor of hiring the other candidate were not retaliated against, while other candidates who said nothing still had their positions eliminated or restructured like Wuopio.
The motion goes on to argue that Wuopio had numerous pre-termination hearings and thus was not denied due process of law, nor was she denied access to her personnel files? negating a violation of the Bullard Plawecki Employee Right to Know Act. It is also noted that Wuopio ultimately resigned and was not terminated by any of the defendants.
Prescott says the school board is arguing they should be immune from a lawsuit and for reasons the case shouldn’t go to trial, rather than admitting or denying wrongdoing.
‘There is no claim in the case we will drop, we are challenging this,? she said. ‘We have ended the fact gathering and we knew going in from speaking with June, that this was a woman who was hounded. We haven’t found anything that changed our faith in this case for one minute. On the contrary, we found a lot of facts that showed how dishonest they were in the way they treated June Wuopio.?
Sean Cox, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan, will hear the motion to dismiss at 2 p.m., June 18.
Prescott said if the motion is denied, the next phase is trial, which she expects would commence in July or August. She declined to comment on the amount of damages Wuopio is seeking, but said it would include punitive damages and attorney’s fees.
‘We do well in front of juries,? Prescott said. ‘We win millions of dollars. I think they (the school board) may realize they’re getting down to the final phases and are wondering if they should settle or roll the dice and watch the costs of settlement go up.?
Superintendent Lorrie McMahon declined to comment.