A federal judge has dismissed an attorney's retaliation claim against her former employer, a special district based in Lakewood, while at the same time permitting the lawyer's defamation claim against a blogger to proceed.

Mary Joanne "Jo" Deziel Timmins sued the Green Mountain Water and Sanitation District after it fired her in the summer of 2021. According to Timmins, the board of directors retaliated against her for bringing to the public's attention the alleged malfeasance and lawbreaking she learned about while serving as the district's counsel.

Timmins also named as a defendant John Kiess Henderson, who she accused of conspiring with the board and defaming her by posting untrue statements on his website.

U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney previously dismissed Timmins' claims against Green Mountain late last year. At the time, she found Timmins had not satisfied the U.S. Supreme Court's requirement that public employees show their speech was not related to their official duties — a requirement for First Amendment protection. Sweeney permitted Timmins to amend her lawsuit to better describe how her speech was unrelated to her duties as legal counsel.

But last week, the judge decided Timmins' latest allegations continued to illustrate that her comments about the board's misconduct stemmed directly from her job representing Green Mountain.

"Even though Ms. Timmins’ statements were made to members of the press and public — individuals outside of her chain of...

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