.jpg)
A lawsuit filed by former Lexington city arborist Celia Raney against city Public Works Director Patrick Madigan and Deputy Director Scott Dameron continues to work its way through the court system.
In her complaint, which was filed last May, Raney cited actions taken by Dameron and Madigan in relation to the removal of trees from Jordans Point Park in the spring of 2023 and alleged behavior from them in the weeks after that, leading to her resignation in May of 2023, as the grounds for her lawsuit.
Raney submitted her letter of resignation on May 11, 2023, with the resignation taking effect on May 19. The suit was filed in Rockbridge County Circuit Court on May 23, 2024. When the suit was filed, though, it listed Madigan and Dameron as defendants, and it was served against Johnnie Taylor, city manager of Lexington at City Hall on Washington Street. No one by that name served as city manager during the time of the alleged acts listed in the suit or at any time before that. After an initial motion to quash the suit based on the incorrect filing, Madigan and Dameron, through Lexington City Attorney Jeremy Carroll, filed a response to Raney’s suit on Nov. 4.
Raney’s suit cites Virginia’s Fraud and Abuse Whistle Blower Protection Act as codified in the state code, which says that government employees are “freely able to report instances of wrongdoing or abuse committed by governmental agencies or independent contractors of governmental agencies.”
The wrongdoing that Raney alleges occurred began on March 1, 2023, when she received a call from a co-worker who said that she was “needed urgently” at Jordans Point Park.
When she arrived at the park, Raney says she was “stunned” to find that “dozens of trees within a riparian zone” along the Maury River had been removed “against numerous guidelines, regulations and laws.” The work, she says, was performed under the direction of Dameron and that “given the size, scope, and objectives of the project” she as the city arborist “should have been informed of the tree cutting in the park.” She also states that the work “violated numerous common protocols and regulations.”
In their response, Madigan and Dameron say that Dameron called Raney on the morning of March 1, and that they “lack[ed] sufficient information or knowledge to admit or deny” whether or not Raney had received calls from any other co-workers that morning and “demand strict proof thereof.” They further state that Raney was informed by the city of the proposed tree cutting and that she “participated in the project.” While they admit that city personnel did remove trees that “were not intended to be removed,” they denied allegations that the project violated protocols, guidelines or laws.
On the afternoon of March 1, 2023, Raney said she met with Madigan and “reported this project and its unlawfulness” to him. She added that she was “very upset regarding what had occurred” and that Madigan had “laughed at the matter.” After expressing frustration, she said that Madigan apologized for laughing and “promised to review the matter.”
In their response, the defendants acknowledged that the meeting took place and that the concerns over potential violations of “erosion and sediment control requirements” were discussed. They also acknowledged that Raney was upset and that Madigan did laugh “at one point during the conversation,” for which he apologized and asked Raney to “put her concerns in writing for his review.”
Raney alleges that two days later, on March 3, Dameron came into her office looking “visibly angry” and that he “indicated that he was upset regarding Ms. Raney’s report to Director Madigan.” She further alleged that Dameron claimed that the “entire Jordan’s Pont Park fiasco” was her fault.
Raney said she informed Dameron that she would be drafting a report of the damages of the project and that Dameron had “expressed frustration” when she began discussing the cost of replacing the riparian buffer, and that he had suggested removing the tree stumps along the river. Raney objected to the stump removal because “removing the stumps would further damage the root structure of the remaining few trees.”
Raney also informed both Madigan and Dameron that “she believed this incident needed to be disclosed to the state,” which she says “angered” both defendants. Dameron and Madigan acknowledge that Dameron spoke with Raney on March 3 and that the cost of planting new trees and removal of the stumps was discussed, and that she informed them of her belief that the incident needed to be reported to the state. They deny all other allegations in regards to those discussions.
Following this, Raney alleges that she “began experiencing a hostile work environment” and that she was “ostracized” by Madigan and Dameron. She said that Dameron “refused to speak to [her] in meetings” and that when he did speak with her he was “aggressive, used condescending words critical of her performance and engaged in gaslighting.” Dameron denied the allegations and said that he “generally praised [Raney’s] work performance.”
A few days after the meeting with Dameron, around March 7 or 8, several saplings along the riverbed in Jordans Point Park were damaged while crews from the Public Works Department removed debris from along the river. Raney alleges that this was done “as a sign of retaliation against her,” which Madigan and Dameron deny.
A few weeks later, in late March or early April, Raney was informed by Madigan that she would no longer report to him, but rather to Dameron. Raney alleges that this was done because she had “communication issues” which she claims is “untrue and the result of retaliatory animus” against her. Raney said in her complaint that she considered the change “a demotion” as she felt that she now “had a lower rank within the chain of command and structure of the City.” She further said that her career track was “negatively affected by this adverse action and that she had “a decrease in authority and professional discretion.”
Raney also alleged that Dameron’s “aggressive behavior” increased after he became her direct supervisor, claiming that he created “fictitious problems, invented issues with which to nitpick [her] and create a paper trail to support a decision to terminate [her] employment.” She further alleged that Dameron “refused to offer any assistance in fulfilling the functions of her job,” and that he wouldn’t inform other employees when she had requested assistance so that she wouldn’t have help. She also claimed that, instead of allowing her to perform her duties as the city arborist, Dameron had “provided her secretarial ‘busy work’” and directed her to do it “because she ‘had good hand writing like a girl.’” The workplace environment, she said, “became so intolerable” that resigning from her positions “was a fitting response.” She also said she believed that she was “about to be terminated by her employer prior to her constructive discharge.” She then submitted her letter of resignation on May 11.
Dameron and Madigan acknowledged that a restructuring of the city’s public works department took place in late March, and that she submitted the letter of resignation on May 11, but denied Raney’s other allegations.
No court date has been set in this case yet.
