Federal Judge Issues Order in Jacksonville Age Discrimination Case

September 19, 2021  
Jim Evancho  

Federal Magistrate Court Judge, Staci G. Cornelius, has issued an opinion and order regarding a request from the City of Jacksonville for a summary judgement. A motion for summary judgment occurs when one party involved in a legal proceeding believes there is no evidence that has been introduced that would warrant a trial.

In 2019 (Bill) Gerald Wineman filed an age discrimination lawsuit against the City of Jacksonville after he was not given the position of police chief when Police Chief Tommy Thompson retired. Wineman had been the assistant chief for the Jacksonville Police Department since 2004 and was directly under Tommy Thompson during that time. When Chief Thompson announced his retirement in September of 2018 Wineman indicated he would be interested in taking over the position of chief. When the Jacksonville Civil Service Board issued an official job listing for the open position of chief of police, Wineman submitted his application to be considered. When the open application process closed, the following people were placed on the candidate list for consideration: Bill Wineman, Allen George, Scott Hodge, Neil Fetner, Falon Hurst, and Marcus Wood. Marcus Wood was ultimately selected by the city and named as the new Chief of Police for the City of Jacksonville Police Department. He was officially sworn into the chief’s position on December 17, 2018.

As the case has progressed through the courts the City of Jacksonville submitted a motion for summary judgement, and both parties were able to provide their position and supporting documentation and evidence for the judge to review and make a ruling. After reviewing both parties’ arguments and supporting evidence, the judge issued an opinion that, at this time, with only the available information being submitted, “The court easily concludes Wineman has presented sufficient circumstantial evidence of age discrimination to support a prima facie case relating to the police chief position.”

The judge also concluded the order with the final statement “Wineman has presented sufficient evidence in support of his age discrimination claim to have it submitted to a jury. Therefore, for all of the foregoing reasons, the City’s motion for summary judgment (Doc. 35) is DENIED.”

We attempted to contact members from the City of Jacksonville for comment, but all advised they were not able to speak due to ongoing litigation of the case.

The case will continue to be heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Division of Alabama.

To see the full opinion and order issued by the court click here.