Hopewell councilors ask court to dismiss racial discrimination lawsuit

HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) -- The city of Hopewell and three of its councilors have filed a motion to dismiss the $6.85 million lawsuit that alleges they fired former city manager Dr. Concetta Manker for her race.

According to the filing, Manker, who is Black, made "no allegations to plausibly suggest" her race was the only cause for her firing. It notes the same four councilors who voted to terminate Manker voted to replace her with Michael Rogers, who is also Black.

"That certainly strikes me as a legitimate point to make if you are defending this case," Legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Russ Stone said.

"If they're claiming you fired this person only on the basis of their race, and yet you hired another person that is also of that same race, it would suggest that maybe you had another reason for firing the first person," Stone said.

The 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss says Manker's lawsuit does not prove she was meeting the city's expectations of her job performance.

And, it says Manker is not entitled to due process after the firing.

"Because Dr. Manker, as City Manager, served at the will and pleasure of City Council, she did not have a property interest in her continued employment with the City," the motion reads. "Absent a property interest, there can be no due process violation."

Manker's lawsuit, filed in July, claimed the council unlawfully terminated her based on her race.

The suit also alleges comments were made about her race by some councilors that later voted to terminate her, "along racial lines" of the council.

The motion to dismiss calls Manker's allegations, "a flimsy inference."

"What they're essentially saying is that, even if everything they're saying in their suit is true, there's no case here," Stone said. "If the judge looks at the suit and says even if all that is true, there's no case here, the judge has the legal authority to throw the whole case out."

The motion was filed on behalf of the city of Hopewell, Mayor Johnny Partin and councilors Ronnie Ellis and Susan Daye. The city's attorney told 8News that Vice-Mayor Rita Joyner has separate counsel and filed a separate motion.

8News reached out to Dr. Manker's legal representation was provided the following statement:

"We fully expected these motions, and we do not believe they have any merit. We will oppose them in due course, and we remain committed to having our day in court." Richard Hawkins, Attorney for Dr. Concetta Manker