Date: 10-23-2009

Case Style: Jody Reilly v. Massachusetts State Police

Case Number: 1:05-cv-11806-RWZ

Judge: Rya W. Zobel

Court: United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Suffolk County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: Scott Lang, Gigi Tierney, Susan Weiner and Julie K. Peterson, Lang, Xifaras & Bullard, New Bedford, Massachusetts and John Shek, Boston, Massachuetts

Defendant's Attorney: Assistant Attorney General Charles Wyzanski

Description: Jody Reilly sued Massachusetts State Police on a civil rights violation theory claiming that she was discriminated against and retaliated against by her supervisor after she turned down his advances. Plaintiff, age 39, was the agency's first female helicopter pilot. She claimed that Major Michael Barry challenged her skills as a pilot after she turned down his advances while he was the commander of the Air Wing in 2003. She filed suit in 2004. An investigation into her flight qualifications and personal life later led to an eight-month suspension from the Air Wing without pay in 2005. It was determined that her training was appropriate and her license valid.

Defendant denied wrongdoing and claimed that Reilly lied about an affair with her former supervisor, Lieutenant Michael Melia, who unfairly helped her advance to become a commercial helicopter pilot.

Outcome:

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: