MTS dismissed from lawsuit by woman who accused Nathan Fletcher of sexual harassment

Nathan Fletcher File photo by Salvatore Giametta A judge on Friday dismissed the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System from a lawsuit brought by a former employee who accused the agency of firing her The incident is connected with sexual harassment complaints made by Grecia Figueroa against former county supervisor and MTS Chair Nathan Fletcher San Diego Superior Court Judge Matthew Braner granted MTS summary judgment motion in the lawsuit brought by the former masses relations specialist leading to the dismissal of all alleges brought against the agency including sexual harassment gender discrimination and retaliation Braner ratified a tentative written ruling he d issued Thursday which stated that MTS has presented evidence Plaintiff s termination was based on legitimate documented performance issues rather than anything involving Fletcher Braner also agreed with MTS arguments that Fletcher had no role in Figueroa s termination nor did his position as an MTS board member give him the authority to fire her The judge commented in court It seems to the court that the evidence that Fletcher s role was essentially ceremonial is much stronger than the assertion not really backed up with a whole lot of evidence that he was a mastermind that he was pulling the strings Fletcher remains a defendant in the incident which is right now scheduled to go to trial next month An independent assessment issued by MTS last year noted that personnel decisions like hirings and firings are the responsibility of the agency s CEO similar to Braner s determination Francis Flynn one of the attorneys representing Figueroa disagreed and stated during Friday s hearing that there were inconsistencies in Figueroa s performance reviews leading up to the date of her firing with a few stating she met her job expectations Flynn also argued that Figueroa communicated being harassed by Fletcher while she was still an MTS employee while the agency argued those complaints weren t made until after her termination In a comment distributed hours after the hearing MTS Board Chair and San Diego City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn mentioned From the outset of this situation our board was committed to an independent examination and review of the matter We re pleased to see the court s agreement in dismissing charges against MTS MTS CEO Sharon Cooney revealed We were glad to hear in the present day s ruling in MTS s favor As we put this episode behind us we remain focused on our ultimate mission to bring safe reliable masses transportation to our region While Fletcher acknowledged a relationship with Figueroa he has claimed all interactions between the pair were consensual Figueroa was terminated from her position on the day Fletcher disclosed his run for state Senate Less than two months after Fletcher stated the bid he ended his campaign stating that would seek cure for post-traumatic stress and alcohol abuse Figueroa s lawsuit followed days later leading to Fletcher s resignation from the county Board of Supervisors and MTS board Fletcher s legal company has since filed a defamation countersuit against Figueroa and published multiple messages between Fletcher and Figueroa spanning more than a year that they allege show a consensual relationship