Suing the City Again

The 20 firefighters who won a lawsuit against New Haven are suing the city, again.

This time they want to be paid for the mental and emotional distress they claim they suffered while fighting for their promotions.

The attorney for the New Haven 20 said the firefighters deserve compensation for two reasons. They missed salary raises and were humiliated while waiting for their promotions.

Just last week 14 of the 20 men were promoted. They sued the city in the 2004 Ricci vs. Destefano case, claiming reverse discrimination. The city had thrown out the results of a promotions test the mostly white firefighters took because not enough minorities passed.

This year the Supreme Court sided with the firefighters and 14 who scored high enough, were added to the ranks or captain and lt. 

But their fight isn’t over.  Karen Lee Torre, the firefighters' attorney, filed another lawsuit against the city Thursday.

The city owes the New Haven 20 lost salary from possible raises, seniority, pension and retirement benefits that they missed out on while waiting for those promotions, according to Torre's filing.

They also should get money for the pain they suffered during the six years it took to win the case, Toree argued.

New Haven Corporation Counsel Victor Bolden issued a statement pertaining to the case saying in part,” the city believes that the supreme court's decision only provides for relief under Title VII and only to the 14 plaintiffs who would have been promoted if the 2003 exams had been certified."

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