Dennis warned to comply with federal court orders; meets with City of Rochester for filings ahead of pretrial
Rochester City Councilmember Molly Dennis
(ABC 6 News) – Molly Dennis’ lawsuit against the City of Rochester took a step forward recently — but may be in jeopardy after a federal judge warned the former city council member about cooperating with court orders.
Shortly after federal court set a pretrial conference for Dennis’ discrimination lawsuit against the city, Jenny Gassman-Pines, representing the City of Rochester, filed a letter saying Dennis had not answered her or talked to anyone else with the city about their “joint obligations” to file redacted documents.
According to that letter, as of April 1, the attorney claimed Dennis had not corresponded with the City about the filings, which were due April 4.
On April 2, Judge Douglas L. Micko ordered Dennis to meet with the City of Rochester to jointly file redacted versions of some documents ahead of the pretrial hearing.
Micko also warned Dennis that further failures to comply with court orders “may result in this Court’s recommendation that this matter be dismissed for failure to prosecute.”
Dennis and the City of Rochester confirmed that they had discussed the redacted filings April 9.
“The City has now connected with Dennis, through outside counsel, and will comply with the court’s new deadline,” Megan Moeller with the City of Rochester wrote.
Molly Dennis tells ABC 6 News that she had reached out to the City of Rochester’s lawyers late in the day April 1, and believes the City should have retracted the letter to Micko the same day.
She claims the attorney had not used multiple ways to try to contact her.
Dennis added that she does not believe she failed to follow official court orders and believes the City of Rochester’s communication with Micko was done with “potential bad faith intent.”
She also said various health concerns led to her “slight delay in response” to the City of Rochester.
The City and Dennis have a “meet and confer” scheduled April 15 at 2 p.m., Dennis said.
RELATED: Judge recommends some charges move forward in Dennis suit against city – ABC 6 News – kaaltv.com
Micko’s entire order is below:
Molly Dennis created a GoFundMe for legal costs associated with her civil suit, online here: Fundraiser by Molly Dennis : Help fund Government Accountability