The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System was dismissed by a judge on Friday from a lawsuit filed by a former employee who claimed she was fired by the agency.
Grecia Figueroa filed sexual harassment allegations against former county supervisor and MTS Chair Nathan Fletcher, which are related to the case.
Judge Matthew Braner of the San Diego Superior Court granted MTS a move for summary judgment in the lawsuit filed by the former public relations specialist. As a result, all allegations against the agency, including those pertaining to retaliation, sexual harassment, and gender discrimination, were dismissed.
Braner affirmed a preliminary written decision he had made on Thursday, according to which MTS had provided proof that the plaintiff’s termination was due to valid, recorded performance concerns rather than anything related to Fletcher.
Braner also agreed with MTS’s claims that Fletcher was not responsible for Figueroa’s termination and that he lacked the power to do so because he was a board member of MTS.
“It appears to the court that the evidence that (Fletcher’s) role was essentially ceremonial is much stronger than the assertion that he was a mastermind, that he was pulling the strings,” the judge stated in court.
The matter is still for trial next month, and Fletcher is still a defendant.
Similar to Braner’s conclusion, an independent inquiry published by MTS last year stated that the agency’s CEO is in charge of personnel decisions including recruiting and dismissing.
One of Figueroa’s lawyers, Francis Flynn, disagreed, saying at Friday’s hearing that Figueroa’s performance reports prior to her termination were inconsistent, with some claiming she fulfilled her job requirements.
Additionally, Flynn contended that Figueroa had complained of harassment from Fletcher while she was still employed by MTS, but the agency maintained that the complaints had not been filed until after her dismissal.
“From the beginning of this case, our board was committed to an independent investigation and review of the matter,” said Stephen Whitburn, a member of the San Diego City Council and the chair of the MTS Board, in a statement issued hours after the hearing. We are happy that the court agreed to drop the allegations against MTS.
“We were happy to hear today’s ruling in MTS’s favor,” stated Sharon Cooney, CEO of MTS. As we move past this lawsuit, our ultimate goal of introducing dependable, safe public transit to our area remains our top priority.
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Despite admitting to having a relationship with Figueroa, Fletcher has maintained that all of their interactions were voluntary.
On the day that Fletcher declared his intention to run for state Senate, Figueroa was fired. Fletcher concluded his campaign less than two months after declaring that he would seek treatment for alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Days later, Figueroa filed a lawsuit, which caused Fletcher to resign from both the MTS board and the county Board of Supervisors.
Since then, Fletcher’s legal team has launched a defamation countersuit against Figueroa and made public several texts that they claim demonstrate a consensual connection between the two of them over the course of more than a year.