By Jorge Casuso

September 24, 2014 -- A lawsuit charging that Santa Monica unlawfully rescinded the hiring of its information officer will move ahead after a federal district Judge on Monday denied the City’s motion to dismiss the case.

Federal district Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell ruled that the City and City Manager Rod Gould, who are defendants in the case, failed to demonstrate the legal reason for rescinding Elizabeth Riel’s contract and that the lawsuit is valid.

Riel’s lawsuit alleges that the defendants admitted that Riel was terminated for writing a newspaper column and contributing to a political mailer eight years ago, thus violating Riel’s fundamental right of free speech under the U.S. Constitution.

“Because Defendants offer no justification for Plaintiff’s termination independent from her protected speech, the Court finds Defendants fail to satisfy their burden,” O’Connell wrote. “Accordingly, the Court finds Plaintiff sets forth valid claims for First Amendment retaliation against both the City and Gould.”

The judge also rejected Gould’s contention that he should be excused because the plaintiff’s First Amendment rights were not sufficiently clear when he rescinded the contract.

“After reviewing the cases cited by Plaintiff, the Court finds that a reasonable person would have understood Plaintiff’s termination was unconstitutional,” O’Connell wrote.

Monday’s ruling paves the way for Riel’s attorneys to begin taking discovery and engage in other pre-trial preparations.

In her lawsuit, Riel claims her contract was rescinded after Gould learned that in an April 2006 newspaper column Riel had criticized the City’s failure to release public documents concerning its relations with Macerich, which was proposing a major redevelopment of Santa Monica Place.

The lawsuit also alleges that Gould learned that five months later, Riel contributed $1,000 to a mailer from the slow-growth group Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City (SMCLC) charging that then Council member Pam O’Connor, who is now the mayor, had accepted campaign contributions from Macerich before voting on the project.

“These allegations establish that Plaintiff’s speech did not amount to mere criticism of the City’s or its officials’ visions or policies,” O’Connell wrote. “Rather, Plaintiff’s speech sought to expose the public to potentially illegal activities.”

Riel also contributed $250 to Council member Kevin McKeown’s 2006 re-election campaign and was pictured with him on a campaign flyer. The information first appeared in a Lookout article published shortly before the 2006 council race. ("O'Connor Targeted by Coalition; Hit Piece Exposes Rift Within SMRR," October 30, 2006).

The lawsuit alleges that less than two weeks before Riel was to begin her new job, Gould discovered these activities and allegedly berated her for not disclosing both the column and contributions during the interview process.

Gould allegedly called Riel over the Memorial Day holiday and allegedly “told her that he was terminating her employment contract because the situation created ‘severe political problems,’” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that he told Riel that although her column was written and her SMCLC contribution was made ‘eight years ago, there are the same City Councilmembers, the same interest groups and the same players on the field .”

“We are very pleased with the Court’s thoughtful and well-reasoned decision,” Riel’s attorney Steven J. Kaplan said in a statement issued Tuesday.

“We are now looking forward to proving our claims and showing the Court and a jury that the City of Santa Monica and City Manager Gould inexcusably punished one of its own residents because she criticized city government and participated – like any citizen should – in the political process.”