Akron and the plaintiff firefighters in a long-pending promotions lawsuit have reached a settlement that avoided what would have been a third trial.
The city must pay $1.04 million in back pay and pre-judgment interest to the firefighters.
“This allows them to look in the rear view mirror and say, ‘God, that decade is over,’” said Bruce Elfvin, an attorney for the firefighters.
The main issue still remaining is attorney fees, with the two sides coming before the new federal judge assigned to the case Dec. 8. Elfvin estimates that bill at about $2.5 million.
Elfvin thinks the removal of U.S. District Court Judge John Adams from the case — an unusual step taken by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in September — helped the two sides to finally reach a settlement. U.S. District Court Judge Sara Lioi is now handling the suit.
“That’s because I think the parties getting somebody who had a different temperament didn’t hurt,” Elfvin said.
Law Director Patty Ambrose Rubright agreed and said the day-long settlement meeting, held in Lioi’s court Tuesday, was much different than previous resolution attempts in the case.
“Despite the adverse positions, Judge Lioi did a superb job of bringing the parties together,” Rubright said.
Rubright said the city will have to look at its finances and figure out how to pay for the back pay, interest and attorney fees. She said settlements in civil suits aren’t covered by insurance.
“The budget will determine how the settlement is paid,” she said.
The promotions lawsuit stems from a discrimination challenge by Akron firefighters who took a promotional test in 2004. The slow-moving litigation resulted in a long halt to promotions in the department. Firefighters routinely filled in as officers on a temporary basis when they had less training and earned lower pay than permanently promoted firefighters.