Politics

A veteran San Francisco firefighter who claims to have endured decades of harassment on account of his race and sexual orientation, is suing the city in state court on six state law counts. Keith Baraka filed suit late last year in San Francisco County Superior Court

Read More »

A handful of Rockport taxpayers have filed a scathing twelve-count, 147-paragraph, twenty-four page complaint accusing town officials of an assortment of misdeeds in an apparent attempt to undercut the fire chief and re-assign command of the fire department.

Read More »

A wrongful termination lawsuit filed last June by a Colorado deputy chief has been settled. Deputy Chief Kevin Ratzmann sued the Los Pinos Fire Protection District alleging violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, retaliation, wrongful termination, breach of contract and promissory estoppel.

Read More »

A Rhode Island firefighter has filed a class action lawsuit alleging that a local fire district violated the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and after being found to be in violation by the US Department of Labor, persisted in refusing to pay back wages owed. James Almagno filed suit today in US District Court naming the Central Coventry Fire District.

Read More »

A lawsuit filed against a fire chief, a fire marshal and a Tennessee city by a political activist who was defeated in a 2018 election, has been dismissed. Chris Spencer unsuccessfully ran for an Alderman’s position for the City of Hendersonville. He claims Hendersonville Fire Chief Scotty Bush and Fire Marshal Paul Varble used city time and resources to help defeat him.

Read More »

A Washington state fire chief who was terminated in 2019 after a vote of no-confidence by his firefighters, has survived a motion to dismiss his wrongful termination suit by establishing a question of fact as to whether the city had just cause to terminate him. Fire Chief David Bathke has terminated by the City of Ocean Shores in March, 2019 after less than two years at the helm.

Read More »

A Lansing firefighter who sued the city last year alleging race discrimination, has filed a separate lawsuit against the mayor, the former interim fire chief, and the former firefighter’s union president. Michael Lynn Jr. filed suit last week in Ingham County Circuit Court naming Mayor Andy Schor, former Interim Chief David Purchase, and former fire union President Eric Weber.

Read More »

A US District Court judge has dismissed the race discrimination claims of a Hartford firefighter, leaving intact for now additional age discrimination claims he also brought. Tony Milledge filed suit last year in US District Court accusing the City of Hartford and the Hartford Fire Department, with race and age discrimination.

Read More »

An FDNY firefighter who filed suit in 2017 alleging he was sexually harassed and discriminated against on account of his race, has had a second lawsuit against the department and several of his colleagues dismissed. Gordon Springs claims he was sexual assaulted in 2015 at the Midtown Manhattan station nicknamed The Cavemen.

Read More »

A fire district in New York has received a setback in a lawsuit over a new communications tower after a Supreme Court judge ruled that despite its municipal status, a fire district must comply with municipal zoning requirements.

Read More »

An Indiana city is suing the firefighters union claiming that benefits negotiated with the city’s Common Council are improper. City of Mishawaka filed suit against the Mishawaka Professional Firefighters Union claiming that since the city’s executive branch was “improperly excluded” from the negotiations of certain benefits, they are not enforceable.

Read More »

Syracuse Firefighters, IAFF Local 280, won an important victory last week in terms of maintaining their right to bargain over disciplinary matters. The city took the position that under recent case law, disciplinary matters were exempted from bargaining under the state’s Second Class Cities Law.

Read More »

Two Alabama chief officers have filed suit against eight current and former local officials alleging they engaged in a conspiracy to fire the chiefs. Northport Fire Chief Bart Marshall and Battalion Chief Richard Brown filed suit this week naming Councilman Robby Davis, Mayor Donna Aaron, former councilman Jody Jobson, ...

Read More »

The owners of a Houston sports complex have filed suit against the city’s police and fire departments after it was forced to close for violating Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order relative to the reopening of business. Sportsplex of Houston, Inc. filed suit yesterday naming the Houston Fire and Police departments.

Read More »