Trending
WARREN -- A ruling from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals clears the way for a former Trumbull County Engineer's Office employee to refile part of a lawsuit against Engineer Randy Smith.
Former safety compliance officer Ken Kubala filed a civil case in 2018 against Smith, claiming Smith perpetuated sexual harassment and First Amendment right violations while Kubala worked for him. Kubala worked in the position from 2011 to 2018. Kubala's claims center on the last three years of his employment.
The case was moved to federal court, where a magistrate in Youngstown dismissed the claims at the end of 2019. Through attorney David Engler, Kubala filed an appeal of the decision to dismiss the claim.
The federal appeals court found in a January decision that the magistrate was correct in dismissing the First Amendment claims Kubala made, but that the issue of sexual harassment should be settled in state court, not in federal court.
Kubala alleged Smith created a work environment "that was so sexually hostile that Kubala was forced to resign and needed to receive treatment for severe psychological injuries," Engler states.
The ruling clears the way for Engler and Kubala to refile in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, and it will be once the federal court completes the necessary filings, Engler states in an email.
Once the case is filed, Engler states he and Kubala are "confident that a judge and a jury will conclude that Smith's sexually harassing conduct was severe and pervasive, and that Kubala is entitled to compensation from Smith and the county."
Engler states he expects the local judges to recuse themselves from the case.
Attorney Jeff Stankunas, who is representing Smith on the matter, said if Engler and Kubala refile the case, he expects it to be dismissed by the judge overseeing the case. The appeals court did not examine the merits of the case when deciding, only the jurisdictional issue of where the sexual harassment claim should be heard, Stankunas said.
The ruling states Kubala's sexual harassment claim is "factually unrelated" to the First Amendment claim and the sexual harassment claim falls under Ohio Revised Code, not federal law.