A judge has dismissed all legal claims against the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System lodged by former public relations specialist Grecia Figueroa, leaving former county Supervisor Nathan Fletcher the sole defendant in the long-running litigation.<\/p>\n
It is the latest downsizing of a lawsuit that landed like a political bombshell two years ago. Late last year, the most serious allegations against Fletcher were withdrawn by the plaintiff.<\/p>\n
The ruling<\/a> Friday came after a Superior Court hearing in which lawyers for the transit agency argued that Figueroa\u2019s termination more than two years ago had nothing to do with Fletcher.<\/p>\n Figueroa filed a lawsuit<\/a> accusing Fletcher of sexual harassment and assault in March 2023, and accusing MTS \u2014 whose board he chaired \u2014 of firing her in retaliation. Fletcher\u00a0strongly denied the accusations but said he had violated\u00a0the \u201cbasic trust and loyalty\u201d\u00a0of his marriage.<\/p>\n Figueroa had been was terminated weeks earlier,\u00a0on the same day Fletcher announced he was running for state Senate. Her lawsuit prompted Fletcher to end his campaign, and later to resign<\/a> his MTS board seat and his seat on the county Board of Supervisors.<\/p>\n But MTS insisted Fletcher had nothing to do with Figueroa\u2019s dismissal, and provided evidence that her performance at work had been singled out for improvement weeks before she was let go.<\/p>\n The court agreed on Friday and dismissed the agency from the case, which remains scheduled for trial next month.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is undisputed plaintiff did not report or complain about Defendant Fletcher\u2019s alleged harassment until after she was terminated,\u201d the ruling states. \u201cThe coincidence of Defendant Fletcher\u2019s public pronouncement of his intent to run for the California State Senate \u2026 cannot on its own support a claim for retaliation.\u201d<\/p>\n San Diego City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, who stepped in as MTS board chair after Fletcher resigned, said the ruling was appropriate.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the outset of this case, our board was committed to an independent investigation and review of this matter,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cWe\u2019re pleased to see the court\u2019s agreement in dismissing charges against MTS.\u201d<\/p>\n The agency\u2019s chief executive also said she was pleased with the decision.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we put this case behind us, we remain focused on our ultimate mission to bring safe, reliable public transportation to our region,\u201d CEO Sharon Cooney said in the same press release.<\/p>\n Neither Figueroa nor her attorney immediately responded to requests for comment on the ruling.<\/p>\n In all, MTS had moved to dismiss four remaining causes of action: sexual harassment, gender discrimination, retaliation and failure to prevent harassment, discrimination or retaliation.<\/p>\n The ruling approved Friday said deposition testimony and other evidence submitted to the court over the past two years did not warrant the transit agency remaining as a defendant in the case.<\/p>\n \u201cThe court concludes defendant Fletcher did not supervise plaintiff nor have any supervisory authority over plaintiff, and defendant MTS neither knew or should have known about defendant Fletcher\u2019s alleged harassing conduct prior to plaintiff\u2019s termination,\u201d the ruling said.<\/p>\n The decision also noted that MTS official Mark Olson had written an internal memorandum a week before Figueroa was fired saying that her job performance was lacking.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve lost confidence in Grecia\u2019s ability to take on special projects and perform up to the level her position demands,\u201d the memo said. \u201cShe has been with MTS for three years. Grecia has had ample opportunity to learn on the job.\u201d<\/p>\n The court also noted that Figueroa \u201cdoes not dispute (that) no one at MTS was aware defendant Fletcher was going to run for Senate\u201d and Fletcher \u201cdid not communicate to anyone any information about plaintiff\u2019s employment.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, Figueroa was scheduled to be fired three days before Fletcher announced he was running for higher office, the ruling said.<\/p>\n In opposing the MTS motion for summary judgment, Figueroa and her lawyers argued the transit agency\u2019s role in the alleged harassment and retaliation should be decided at trial.<\/p>\n \u201cTriable issues exist as to whether MTS is liable for its board chair\u2019s harassment,\u201d the plaintiff argued in court papers. \u201cBut for Mr. Fletcher\u2019s harassment of plaintiff, a triable issue exists as to whether plaintiff would still be employed by MTS.\u201d<\/p>\n The court ruling Friday did include one win for Figueroa. Under the ruling, text messages the plaintiff exchanged with a third party named\u00a0Danielle Radin were allowed to remain sealed from public view.<\/p>\n \u201cThese documents contain sensitive third-party personal information that, if disclosed, could cause reputational harm to Ms. Radin, which outweighs any potential benefit of public access to the documents,\u201d the ruling said.<\/p>\n The original lawsuit Figueroa filed against Fletcher and MTS accused him\u00a0of sexual assault and battery, saying he had groped her on two occasions inside the MTS headquarters. Figueroa withdrew her claims for assault and battery<\/a>\u00a0late last year ahead of a critical hearing in January.<\/p>\n