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MADEIRA - Part-time firefighter Barbara Barthel, 50, won her age and sex discrimination case last month against the Madeira-Indian Hill Fire District and its chief, Steve Ashbrock.
But she's still fighting for the job she wants.
Even though a jury awarded Barthel $63,000 in compensatory damages against the fire district and another $190,000 in punitive damages against Ashbrock, attorneys for both sides were in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court again on Monday.
Barthel's attorneys want Judge John O'Conner to order the district to give her the full-time firefighting job she didn't get in 2002. Or, they want the district to pay $475,305.12 - the money they say Barthel would have earned until retirement had she received the full-time position. They also want the district to pay $87,450.59 in attorney fees and court costs.
But Fanon Rucker, the fire district's lawyer, wants the jury's verdict thrown out, citing several legal technicalities. If the judge doesn't agree to that, he wants a new trial, or at least damages to be reduced or thrown out.
Rucker said the jury based its verdict on "emotions, passion and bias" instead of facts; that O'Connor gave incorrect instructions to the jury which prompted them to award "excessive" punitive damages against Ashbrock; and that the jury did not consider factors such as physical agility and written test scores for rejecting Barthel for the job.
One of two jobs went to a younger male who scored the second-lowest of 10 on the written exam, but second-best of nine on the agility test. The second position went to a younger male who ranked fifth in agility and fourth on the written exam. Barthel, who worked for the district since 1995, ranked sixth on the written exam and last on agility, according to court documents.
Stacy Hinners, one of three lawyers representing Barthel, reminded the judge that a part-time female firefighter testified in trial that Ashbrock said, "I'm never going to hire a woman full-time."
When Barthel asked Ashbrock what she needed to do to get promoted, Hinners said Ashbrock told her: "Don't you get it? You're too old and you're a woman. Give it up."
O'Connor said he will issue a decision on the motions in a week, but instructed attorneys to work at a settlement in the meantime. Rucker wants terms of any settlement sealed and also asked O'Connor to consider placing a gag order on those involved in the case.
Barthel sued in 2003 after being passed over for promotions to full-time in 2000 and 2002, and for a captain's position in 2001.
After a five-day trial last month, a jury ruled in the district's favor for the alleged incidents in 2000 and 2001, but decided that the fire district and Ashbrock had discriminated against Barthel in failing to hire her full-time in 2002.
