Mayor's Secretary Lawsuit: Is A Deal In The Works?

Sally Deitrick and Solon Mayor Susan Drucker are seeking to work out a deal in private to avoid going to trial in Deitrick's wrongful termination lawsuit against Drucker and the city, court records show.

A settlement conference had been scheduled for Jan. 25 but was later canceled. Court records show that both parties decided to cancel that conference in an effort to "privately mediate the case."

If a deal is worked out between the parties, there will be no need for a trial, which is set to begin in late September.

The next scheduled action in the lawsuit is a pre-trial conferenc scheduled for Sept. 5. Trial would begin Sept. 23.

Deitrick is Drucker's former secretary. In the lawsuit, Deitrick alleges that Drucker fired her because she was old, and that Drucker had something against the city's older employers. Drucker countered that Deitrick was unreliable, untrustworthy and bad at her job.

The city's attorneys tried to get the lawsuit tossed out, but the judge rejected that motion.

The case is more than a year old, but will likely see some resolution this year. Judge Peter J. Corrigan has set all trial dates as firm and no more continuances will be given.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS STORY:

• Deitrick Complaint Alleges Mayor Descriminated Against Secretary's Age
• READ: Sally Deitrick's Termination Letter
• Vice Mayor Explains Hiring Law Firm To Deal With Deitrick Lawsuit
• Solon Begins Defense in Deitrick Lawsuit
• Sally Deitrick Lawsuit: City's Motion to Dismiss Denied by Judge
• Trial Set in Sally Deitrick Wrongfu Termination Lawsuit