Hopewell council members file for qualified immunity in $6.8M discrimination lawsuit

HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) -- Several Hopewell council members named in the controversial $6.8 million discrimination lawsuit have filed a motion seeking the defense of qualified immunity following months of silence in the case.

In May 2025, Hopewell City Council voted 4-3 to terminate city manager Concetta Manker and city clerk Brittani Williams “without cause.” The firings led to significant controversy, with some city residents and former employees alleging these firings were racially motivated.

Two months later, in July 2025, Manker -- who was hired as the first woman and the first Black woman to serve as city manager -- filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city of racial discrimination.

Within that suit, she alleged that not only was her firing racially motivated, but it was also done in such a way that violated the city council’s own rules.

The lawsuit named the city of Hopewell and the four members of its city council who voted in favor of her termination: Mayor Johnny Partin, Vice Mayor Rita Joyner and councilors Eonnie Ellis and Susan Daye. All four of these individual defendants are white.

In August 2025, the city and three of its councilors filed a motion to dismiss the $6.85 million lawsuit that alleged they fired Manker for racial discrimination.

All of these defendants asked the court on Tuesday, Feb. 10, to file a motion asserting qualified immunity, allowing one of the defense attorneys, Blair H. O'Brien, to withdraw from the controversial case.

According to court filings, O'Brien left her firm on Feb. 6. Since she no longer works at the firm, the remaining attorneys, Melissa York and Patrick Kelly, have asked to remove her from the case.

Both sides asked the court to postpone the trial and extend discovery to March 31, along with revised briefing deadlines.

According to court filings, the court has not yet ruled on the earlier motions to dismiss, so the remaining claims are unknown -- though Manker intends to file summary judgment motions involving qualified immunity.

Court documents said that any ruling on qualified immunity is immediately appealable. If the judge denies or grants immunity, the other party may appeal.

The defendants intend to file motions for summary judgment, which will raise the defense of
qualified immunity for the individual defendants, arguing Manker’s claims involve actions taken in their roles as elected officials.

This qualified immunity defense is ultimately why they will postpone the current trial date set for May 4 to May 7.

Both sides have asked to extend the deadline to complete discovery to March 31.

Court documents also show both parties requested that the deadline for summary judgment be set for April 27, with any responses due on May 11 and any replies due on May 18.