Federal judge dismisses 2 alders from former Sheboygan city director’s lawsuit. Here's the latest on the case.
SHEBOYGAN — A federal judge has dismissed Sheboygan alders Barb Felde and Roberta Filicky-Peneski in their entirety from former Planning and Development Director Chad Pelishek’s lawsuit against the city and various members of city leadership.
After 16 years working with the Sheboygan Department of Planning and Development, Pelishek resigned from his role in March 2023.
In court documents, Pelishek claimed he was “set up” by a city employee to repeat a racial slur during an August meeting, then was discriminated against by multiple city leaders to remove him from his position.
On Aug. 7, 2023, Pelishek filed a federal lawsuit naming the city of Sheboygan; Mayor Ryan Sorenson; Common Council members Felde, Filicky-Peneski and Amanda Salazar; and Uptown Social Director Emily Rendall-Araujo as defendants.
In the suit, Pelishek alleged he quit after facing harassment and discrimination for being a “white heterosexual male.”
The defendants motioned to have the entire amended complaint dismissed, arguing it’s difficult to understand and often fails to specify which actions — or inaction — Pelishek attributes to each defendant.
On March 11, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Duffin signed a decision and order resolving the defendants’ motions to dismiss Pelishek’s complaints.
In the document, Duffin identifies the following five causes of action in Pelishek’s amended complaint: discrimination under Title VII, equal protections under the 14th Amendment, retaliation for speech protected by the First Amendment, and two claims alleging prior restraints on First Amendment protected speech.
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In this decision, Duffin dismissed all official capacity claims against individual defendants, Felde, Filicky-Peneski, all Title VII claims against individuals, the First Amendment retaliation claim and all First Amendment prior restraint claims against the individual defendants.
Pelishek's remaining claims are his Title VII claims against the city; equal protection claims against Sorenson, Salazar, Rendall-Araujo, Adams and the city; and prior restraint claims against the city.
The decision analyzed Pelishek’s amended complaint to determine which claims should be dismissed on the defendants’ motions and which would make it beyond this stage in the court proceedings.
Duffin agreed with the defendants that the complaint was often both unclear and said more than it needed to. Because of this, it “forced” defendants to move to dismiss claims Pelishek didn’t intend to allege.
However, Pelishek’s “imprecision in pleading” could be addressed more narrowly than dismissing the entire complaint, Duffin said.
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Warren Buliox, listed defense attorney, said the defendants are “very pleased” with the decision in an email in which answered a request for comment on behalf of himself, other defense attorneys Julie Bittner and Kerrie Murphy, and the defendants.
Pelishek’s attorney, Jennifer DeMaster, did not answer a request for comment on this article. In a previous article requesting a comment, she said she and her clients would not comment on ongoing judicial proceedings.
Deadlines coming up next for this case include Pelishek's expert witness list due July 1, the defendant expert witness list due Sept. 2 and a discovery deadline Oct. 15.
Have a story tip or public interest concern? Contact Sam Bailey at sgbailey@gannett.com or 573-256-9937. To stay up to date on her stories and other news, follow her on X (Twitter) @SamarahBailey.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan alders dismissed by judge in Chad Pelishek's federal lawsuit
