ROCHESTER — A federal judge recommends at least part of

Rochester City Council Member Molly Dennis’s Lawsuit Against the City

be fired.

The recommendation comes seven months after US Federal Court Judge Douglas

Micko heard arguments on the city’s motion to dismiss.

a discrimination lawsuit filed against the city, Mayor Kim Norton and Councilman Patrick Keane.

Rochester City Attorney Michael Spindler-Krage said the recommendation is made to the presiding judge, Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz, who will make a final decision on the status of the case and issue an order at some point.

Before the decision is made, all parties to the lawsuit have the option to challenge Micko’s report.

“We don’t yet know whether the parties will challenge the report and the recommendation,” Spindler-Krage said.

Until then, Micko’s report and recommendation are sealed, with court records indicating only that he suggested the city’s motion to dismiss the complaint should be “granted in part and denied in part.” It does not indicate which of Dennis’ complaints it recommends could advance in court.

Spindler-Krage said the court has declared that the parties involved in the lawsuit cannot share the document or its contents.

Dennis, who represents herself in the lawsuit, said she has not received information related to the recommendation, which was posted online Tuesday, as the court communicates with her by mail.

According to court records, no date has been set for future hearings or a possible trial.

In his lawsuit, Dennis claims that his censure on March 6, 2023, as well as his subsequent actions, violated several state and federal protections against discrimination based on his diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Erin Emory, an attorney with the Minneapolis-based law firm Greene Espel, who represents the city, Norton and Keane in the lawsuit, argued before Micko in April that five of the nine counts in Dennis’ lawsuit failed based on the law and four lacked a basis beyond the assertions.

“At its core, this lawsuit is about censorship,” he said, later adding, “There is no overlap between Councilman Dennis’ disability… and his behavior that led to the censure.”

Post bulletin stock photo

He also said most of the claims against Norton and Keane were inappropriate, either because of their status as elected officials or as individuals.

Dennis told Micko that the censure was retaliation related to questions and claims she raised about the city’s practices, and that it sought to discriminate against her.

“They used legitimate symptoms… of my disability to justify the censorship,” he said of the language of the censorship document, which outlined concerns about his actions and use of staff time, while also providing guidelines for staff interaction during the majority. part of 2023.

He said he believes he can prove his claims if the case goes to trial.

“The information I have presented to the court is just the tip of the iceberg of the information I have,” he told Micko.

During the April hearing, Micko flagged the possibility that parts of Dennis’ complaint could move forward while other sections could be dismissed, citing the need to analyze how an elected official could be affected by prior laws and rulings related to sex discrimination. employees.