EAST ST. LOUIS — A former executive director of the Marion County Housing Authority is suing the authority and its commissioners for allegedly terminating her employment without a reasonable explanation.
Allison F. Austin filed a complaint on Jan. 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against the Marion County Housing Authority, Georgia Miller, Brenda Lingafelter and Richard Gregg, alleging they violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
According to the complaint, Austin alleges she was wrongfully terminated from her employment with the Marion County Housing Authority on Dec. 14, 2016, without a reasonable explanation.
The plaintiff alleges she suffered lost wages and benefits, loss of her position and emotional and mental distress.
Austin alleges the defendants defamed her, breached a contract and terminated her from her employment without affording her due process of law.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks compensation for special, general and punitive damages, costs of the suit, attorneys’ fees, pre- and post-judgment interest and any other proper relief.
She is represented by Lance T. Jones of HeplerBroom LLC in Springfield.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:17-cv-00005