DENVER—A federal appeals court has affirmed a jury verdict in favor of a former assistant city attorney for Albuquerque, N.M., who alleged the mayor fired her in retaliation for a case in which they both were involved before he became mayor.
Mayor Martin Chavez dismissed Judy Kelley after taking office for a second term in 2001. Kelley said she had represented the city when Chavez represented a client who filed a discrimination case against the city.
Chavez said he was trimming the budget when Kelley was cut.
The city appealed the jury verdict and argued, in part, that the jury was not improperly instructed and that Kelley didn’t have grounds to sue.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver disagreed in a ruling Wednesday.
