Deitrick Lawsuit Update: Trial, if Needed, Pushed into 2013

A decision in the wrongful termination and age discrimination lawsuit filed by former employee Sally Deitrick likely won't come until 2013, court records show.

In August, attorneys representing the city and Mayor Susan Drucker asked for an extension, which was granted. A settlement conference is now scheduled for Jan. 10 and, if necessary, a trial date is set for March 11.

The extension comes after the judge declined to dismiss the lawsuit in May. A settlement conference had been previously scheduled for Nov. 8.

Deitrick alleges in the complaint that Drucker fired her because she was old, and that Drucker had an ax to grind against the city's older employers. Drucker countered that Deitrick was unreliable, untrustworthy and bad at her job.

The wrongful termination and age discrimination lawsuit filed by the former mayor's assistant against the city has spent months wending its way through the legal process. The suit was filed in November 2011.

After attorneys for the city and Drucker asked Judge Peter J. Corrigan in January to dismiss the lawsuit, the judge ruled in May against the city, denying its attorneys motion to dismiss.

It's important to point out that denying the dismissal is a procedural move, designed to "test the sufficiency of the complaint." It does not prove Deitrick's allegations are true.

The only way the case would have been dismissed is if the judge determined that no facts can prove Deitrick's side of the story, according to the judge's ruling.

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