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Friday, March 29, 2024

Gilbert allows gender violence suit against Collinsville to proceed

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BENTON – Collinsville must defend a gender violence claim of employee Amy Boeving, Senior U.S. District Judge Phil Gilbert ruled on Dec. 14. 

Gilbert rejected an argument that workers can’t sue cities under Illinois gender violence law, finding Illinois courts haven’t answered the question. 

The city and chief building officer Randall Tedesco also face claims of harassment and retaliation. 

The city hired Boeving in 2016, as a planning and building assistant in the community development department. 

In April, attorneys Grant Mabie and Jill Rembusch of Brentwood, Mo. sued the city and Tedesco for Boeving. 

The suit claims Tedesco pressured Boeving to engage in sex. 

Tedesco allegedly made sexual overtures and inappropriate comments almost daily.

Boeving claims she discussed the treatment with David Bookless, another supervisor, and he allegedly said it would be a bad idea to lodge a complaint. 

Boeving claims she met with other directors as the treatment escalated, and they implied that a complaint would be detrimental to her employment. 

They city and Tedesco allegedly subjected her to disparate treatment and increased their scrutiny and criticism. 

In June, city counsel Jillian Mueller and Carrie Kinsella of Clayton, Mo. moved to dismiss gender violence claims against the city and Tedesco. 

They argue that Boeving’s allegations didn’t meet the law’s requirement of a physical intrusion or invasion of a sexual nature satisfying the elements of battery. 

They claim she alleged threats of harm and violence but provided no reference to their time, place, or nature. 

They claim a statute of limitations of two years was fatal to her gender violence claim due to her failure to plead details in a time frame of five years. 

And, they claim gender violence law doesn’t apply to the city because Boeving didn’t demonstrate a requisite level of involvement. 

Rembusch responded that Tedesco’s conduct fit the definition of battery in Illinois as “some affirmative act intended to cause an unpermitted contact.” 

She claims the city condoned, encouraged or assisted in Tedesco’s acts. 

Gilbert wrote that he wouldn’t require detailed dates of incidents. 

He found Boeving was required only to plead some indication of time and place. 

He found she provided indication that conditions took place consistently. 

He found no binding precedent in his district and an open question in Illinois whether a corporation or entity is a person under gender violence law. 

And, he found he couldn’t dismiss the claim against Collinsville at this juncture.

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