DAPC request for attorney fees denied in Rapson suit

Unequal pay, retaliation claims not frivolous, federal judge says

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

A federal judge has denied a request from the Development Authority of Peachtree City for about $210,000 in attorney’s fees from former Peachtree City Amphitheater Director Kristi Rapson, whose suit against the DAPC for unequal pay and retaliation was dismissed in April.

In an eight-page order filed in the case November 18, U.S. District Judge Jack T. Camp noted that Rapson’s claims “were not frivolous, unreasonable or without foundation.”

“Defendant, the prevailing party in this case, has a difficult bar to clear in order to show the complete lack of foundation in plaintiff’s claims necessary for an award of attorney fees,” Camp wrote. “Defendant has not cleared that bar.”

Rapson claimed in the suit that she was unfairly paid compared to then-tennis center director Virgil Christian, both of whom were employed by the DAPC. The court granted summary judgment in favor of the DAPC after determining the jobs weren’t similar and that the DAPC didn’t retaliate against Rapson after she complained to the DAPC that she was being unfairly compensated compared to Christian.

When the suit was dismissed in April before reaching the trial stage, Camp noted that the tennis center director supervised more employees and worked more days and longer hours than the amphitheater director.

In his recent order, Camp said both positions were similar because they involved overseeing the operation of a recreational facility in Peachtree City under the authority’s supervision.

Camp also noted that attorneys fees in similar cases were awarded when plaintiffs introduced virtually no evidence to support their claims. That was not the case in Rapson’s suit, Camp wrote.

The city’s tennis center and amphitheater are no longer being managed by the development authority. That task is being handled by the Peachtree City Tourism Association, another autonomous body appointed by the Peachtree City Council.

Rapson said Monday that she felt Camp’s order vindicated her position in the suit.

“I do feel if it had gone to trial I could have won,” Rapson said.

Rapson noted that all of the DAPC members who were involved at the time of her complaint are no longer on the authority. The suit has ended friendships and was difficult to proceed with, she said, but “in many ways, it was necessary.”

Under new management, the amphitheater and tennis center are heading in the right direction and turning a profit, Rapson said.

“Myself and Virgil Christian and Donna Romeo had worked hard to build those facilities to be what they were,” Rapson said, adding that she was pleased with the direction the venues are taking now.

“It does mean very much to me for the amphitheater to be successful,” Rapson said.


		Friday, Dec. 3, 2004