The judge improved the fate of the woman’s claims, including accusing Inglewood mayor of acting like ‘Black Donald Trump’

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. – A judge said Monday he was inclined to trim parts of the lawsuit brought by a former girlfriend and executive assistant of Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. – in which the woman accused the city, Butts and two other city officials, saying she was wrongly fired in 2019 and the mayor acted “every bit like Black Trump.”

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard J. Burdge Jr. issued an interim ruling dismissing the causes of action for Melanie McDade-Dickens caused by the action for sexual harassment, failure to investigate and prevent sexual harassment and retaliation. , but he said he wanted to check further how much time he had to file his lawsuit.

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McDade -Dickens brought her complaint on Jan. 25, and Mira Hashmall, an attorney for Butts and the city, said the law at the time only gave the plaintiff one year from July 2019 – when she received the right on appeal notice from the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing – to file a suit.

Attorneys for the plaintiff maintain that he has three years to bring the case.

The judge also said he was inclined to allow McDade-Dickens to amend his complaint to further argue that his claim to negligent procurement, supervision and retention did not preclude government immunity.

The judge temporarily denied the defense’s requests to dismiss his claims for harassment and discrimination and intentionally placing emotional distress as well as a violation of the state’s Labor Code.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff’s allegation concerns the “disruptive actions of a defiled lover, who is also having the mayor of a growing metropolis … use his greater power and influence … to attract a trusted city ​​employee, Melanie The McDade-Dickens, to be romantically involved with him. ”

But after McDade-Dickens concluded what was described as a compromise agreement, Butts, “acting like Black Donald Trump, targeting those who dared to rebuke him,” conspired with the Human Resource Director to Jose Cortes and City Manager Artie Fields to ruin his career by retaliating against and ultimately firing the plaintiff from the job he wanted, the suit said.

McDade-Dickens met Butts in 2010 and he volunteered to work on his mayoral campaign, according to the suit. He first asked her to serve as his office manager, but he was so impressed with his knowledge and organizational skills that he established his internal board of advisors as part of his strategy committee, the suit said.

After Butts was elected mayor in 2010, he invited McDade-Dickens to be his guardian.

“In the beginning Butts was caring, loving and supportive, both personally and professionally,” according to the suit.

But the relationship eventually dropped “to one of abuse, abuse of power and sexual abuse,” the lawsuit said.

Hashmall had previously said the lawsuit was “full of good fabrication, is a tactic designed to divert attention from Ms McDade’s wrongdoing by anointing others. It won’t work.”

The city fired McDade-Dickens after drawing attention to allegations of fraud and criminal conduct, according to Hashmall.

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