Judge’s ruling stalls retaliation claim by former firefighter
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge found in a tentative ruling Monday that more facts were needed to support former Los Angeles firefighter Tennie Pierce’s allegation that he was retaliated against by city employees last year.
The ruling only concerned one aspect of a broader racial harassment suit brought by Pierce against the city. In that suit, Pierce, who is black, alleged that white and Latino colleagues laced his dinner with dog food at a Westchester fire station in 2004.
In November, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa vetoed a proposed $2.7-million settlement with Pierce after photos of Pierce participating in fire station pranks appeared in the media.
On Monday, Judge Mark V. Mooney tentatively ruled in favor of the city and gave Pierce’s attorney, Genie Harrison, 20 days to amend her arguments.
Harrison released a statement: “Today’s court ruling simply means that we are to revise the fourth cause of action for retaliation. The judge wants more facts in the document. This is a completely normal part of litigation and we will file the revised complaint per the judge’s order.”
Attorneys for Jones Day, the firm representing the city, could not be reached for comment. In the meantime, Pierce’s case appears to be headed to trial later in the year.
The city is also embroiled in another lawsuit in which Brenda Lee -- a black lesbian firefighter -- alleges racial, sexual and sexual orientation discrimination. A jury last month awarded $1.7 million to a co-plaintiff in that suit, a white firefighter who said he suffered retaliation after trying to help Lee.
The Fire Department also announced last month that it was investigating an incident in which a young African American firefighter found his locker vandalized.
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