A federal district judge has dismissed a discrimination lawsuit brought against the city of Rochester by two applicants for firefighter jobs.
U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen issued her ruling Monday in the lawsuit brought by David Torgerson and Jami Mundell against the city.
Torgersen, an American Indian, and Mundell, a woman, brought the action, claiming discrimination when the city passed over them two years ago in favor of seven white men to fill firefighter vacancies. The fire chief at the time, David Kapler, testified he did not recommend Torgerson, Mundell and another woman because they did not "demonstrate themselves to be equally or better qualified" than the recommended candidates.
Oral arguments were given in federal court in Minneapolis in September and the judge took the matter under advisement.
In a 24-page ruling, Ericksen said Torgerson and Mundell presented no evidence discrediting the city's reason for not hiring them or giving rise to an inference of discrimination.
Ericksen went over in detail the claims raised by Torgerson and Mundell and explained why they failed to establish that their claims of discrimination should survive the city's motion for summary judgment.
The judge also noted that Torgerson and Mundell relied heavily on the opinion of Pat Carr, a city council member, in support of their claims. Ericksen said Carr lacks personal knowledge of the challenged hiring process and said many of his opinions were couched as legal conclusions. She said Carr's opinions are inadmissible.
The hiring process that led to the claims began in the fall of 2005 when 48 candidates were certified for the firefighter eligibility list. That included Torgerson, Mundell and another white female. The three were in a protected group of candidates.
At the end of the written and agility phases of the exam, Torgerson ranked 41st and Mundell ranked 46th. Both advanced to the panel interview phase. Mundell and Torgerson scored 37th and 41st in that phase.
The Fire Civil Service Commission then certified a list of candidates to fill seven positions. That list included Mundell and Torgerson. All were then interviewed by Kapler, the chief at the time.
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