close

Former Washington Co. Courthouse employee sues Judge DiSalle over firing

By Mike Jones 5 min read
article image -
Judge John DiSalle

A former Washington County Courthouse employee is suing Judge John DiSalle over claims he had her fired in a retaliatory move when she raised concerns about his refusal to allow some defendants to have attorneys at proceedings in the specialized court program he presided over.

Elizabeth Sullivan filed the lawsuit Monday in Washington County Court of Common Pleas accusing DiSalle and former court administrator Patrick Grimm of eliminating her job overseeing the judge’s problem-solving court in 2023 when she alerted state judicial officials about various legal issues, ending her 24-year career in the courthouse.

The lawsuit, filed by Washington attorney Noah Geary, alleges DiSalle denied dozens of veterans in the specialty court to have attorneys present at hearings, and he even sentenced some of them to serve jail time if they were in violation of the program’s rules. Sullivan apparently informed DiSalle that these defendants were entitled to have an attorney representing them at the hearings, prompting the judge to speak with Grimm in November 2022 asking that she no longer be permitted to be involved with the problem-solving court, the lawsuit states.

“Exclusion of Sullivan from the sanctions hearings was done purposefully by DiSalle to prevent Sullivan from informing the AOPC/others of DiSalle’s denying veterans the right to counsel,” the lawsuit alleges. “It is believed that the AOPC approached DiSalle and inquired of him if he was denying Veteran defendants their constitutional rights to counsel at the sanction hearings. Whatever DiSalle told the AOPC, DiSalle continued to conduct sanction hearings in veterans court and continued to deny veteran defendants their constitutional rights to counsel.”

Sullivan contacted the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts that oversees the state’s court system about the situation, which the lawsuit alleges “constituted protected activity.” Grimm notified DiSalle of Sullivan’s complaint, prompting the judge to allegedly retaliate by having her position eliminated through a “restructuring” approved by the county’s salary board. Grimm wrote Sullivan on Aug. 16, 2023, informing her of the decision by the county’s salary board to eliminate her position and terminate her employment at the courthouse.

The AOPC investigated Sullvan’s allegations and found her accusations of DiSalle to be “meritorious,” the lawsuit claims, specifically about the judge allegedly violating the state Unified Judicial System’s policy on non-discrimination and equal employment opportunity.

The AOPC sent Sullivan a letter on Jan. 23, 2024, notifying her that it took “appropriate action” on the matter. Four days earlier, DiSalle announced at a bar association meeting that he was stepping down as president judge of the courthouse but would remain a judge, which he inferred was a voluntary decision. The lawsuit claims the AOPC “directed” DiSalle to step down from the high-ranking position due to the “unlawful actions” taken against Sullivan.

The lawsuit also alleges that DiSalle made repeated statements that Sullivan “did not like Black people” despite her having two nieces who are Black. Sullivan denied the claim each time DiSalle made it from 2020 through 2022, the lawsuit states, and she eventually filed a complaint with the AOPC over the issue in July 2022.

“Sullivan was taken aback,” the lawsuit states. “Injecting the subject of race into the work environment had nothing to do with Sullivan’s job tasks and DiSalle’s statements were gratuitous and totally improper.”

DiSalle and Grimm learned about the complaint and allegedly used it as another reason for the restructuring that eliminated her position, the lawsuit states.

“We want serious monetary damages because this was outrageous,” Geary said Monday. “Liz Sullivan stood up for all veterans in Washington County and lost her job because of it. It was a good job and one that she loved.”

Geary said Sullivan is still trying to find comparable employment, and that the loss of her job in the courthouse had a “devastating” effect on her.

“Her allegations are obviously true. But they’re buttressed by the AOPC’s actions to demote (DiSalle) from president judge to judges,” Geary said. “But that doesn’t get her job back or compensate her.”

DiSalle, who did not respond to a phone message seeking comment, filed paperwork last month indicating his intention to run in the November election for judicial retention to serve another 10-year term on the bench.

Grimm, who left his position as court administrator last month for a new job in Pittsburgh, said he could not speak about the allegations because he had not yet seen the lawsuit. The AOPC has not accused Grimm of wrong-doing with his alleged role in Sullivan’s termination.

The AOPC, state Unified Judicial System and Washington County are also named as defendants. AOPC officials said they had no comment about the lawsuit or the accusations lodged against DiSalle.

Geary said that while the case was filed in state court, there are elements within the lawsuit that could ultimately have it be transferred to federal court instead.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today