Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
A Palm Beach firefighter who lost his discrimination suit against the town has had to reimburse the town for a portion of its defense costs.
Last January, Palm Beach prevailed in federal court in a suit brought by former firefighter-paramedic Roger Dale Corbin, a 17 year veteran. Corbin claimed the fire department violated the American’s With Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to properly accommodate his diabetic condition.
Unfortunately for Corbin, the evidence showed he was actually terminated for calling in sick on August 5, 2011, and fabricating a story about being home when he was in fact in Georgia staying with relatives and visiting Six Flags. As Corbin discovered, federal courts are rather… how shall we say… intolerant of those kinds of… honest mistake of fact. Quoting from Judge Kenneth Marra’s January 23, 2014 ruling, “Even under [Corbin’s own] version of the facts, his behavior can only be seen as insubordinate and deceitful.”
Last month, Corbin was ordered to pay a portion of the town’s defense costs. Fortunately for Corbin, the town agreed to settle for just $1500 in exchange for Corbin surrendering his right to appeal Judge Marra’s ruling or otherwise challenge his termination.
