Rochester Councilwoman Sues Mayor, City, Fellow Councilmember (Update)

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A member of the Rochester City Council is suing the city she works for and two prominent local leaders. 

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The lawsuit was filed in Olmsted County Court Monday. The suit is filed as a discrimination lawsuit. 

The plaintiff in the lawsuit is Councilmember Molly Dennis. The defendants are listed as Mayor Kim Norton, First Ward Councilman Patrick Keane and the City of Rochester. 

The lawsuit alleges Norton, Keane and city officials “intentionally discriminated against Dennis on account of her disability by, inter alia, reprimanding and punishing her for her difficulty focusing, short attention span, struggle linear processing, executive functioning deficit, hyperactivity, and other well-known characteristics of ADHD.”

The lawsuit alleges a Censure approved on a 4-1 vote against Dennis last March, was prompted by behaviors directly caused by and related to her ADHD. The suit also alleges the terms of the censure made it difficult for Dennis to do her job. 

The court filing also accuses Norton of making a public statement to intentionally defame and injure Dennis. Dennis is seeking damages in excess of $800,000. The lawsuit includes eight counts of alleged discrimination. 

The lawsuit is the latest chapter of what has been a rocky relationship between the council, city administration and the sixth ward councilwoman. Last March, the Rochester City Council voted 4-1 to censure Dennis over what were described as ongoing and persistent concerns about her conduct with fellow Councilmembers and city staff. 

The resolution mentioned "elevated and unproductive behavior" during and after a City Council study session that was held at the Plummer House last February. 

The censure also included allegations that Dennis engaged in intimidating physical behaviors and escalated physical behaviors during times of disagreement, ongoing inflammatory and unfounded allegations against other City Councilmembers and City staff, threatening and manipulative behaviors "exercised" toward City staff and elected officials, and excessive use of City time and resources. 

Following the censure, Dennis accused the city of failing to accommodate her under the Public Services provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

She also alleged the council voted to censure her for “ongoing and persistent concerns” about her conduct with fellow council members and city staff, and the terms that accommodated censure also were an act of discrimination against her disability. 

Dennis’s allegations prompted an outside investigation that wrapped up last June and found Dennis’s claims were unsubstantiated.

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