DELRAY BEACH —Former Delray Beach Fire Rescue Chief Keith Tomey filed a lawsuit against the city of Delray Beach on June 25, nearly two months after his termination in late April.
The lawsuit, filed in Palm Beach County's Circuit Court, claims that Tomey's rights were violated under the Florida Public Sector Whistleblower Act, which is meant to prevent agencies from retaliating against employees who report violations of the law, according to the Florida Senate. It also claims there was a breach of Tomey's contract with Delray Beach Fire Rescue.
Tomey was "unlawfully terminated for making disclosures and otherwise engaging in activities" protected by the Whistleblower Act, the lawsuit states. The disclosures refer to an email sent on March 15, on behalf of Tomey, to the city attorney — and the city's former mayor and council members — explaining that Tomey had been sexually harassed by his then-supervisor, City Manager Terrence Moore, in August 2022.
The city, on July 24, filed a motion to dismiss Tomey's lawsuit.
"(Tomey) is not a whistleblower," the city's motion states.
It also states that, because of this, Tomey "does not have rights" under the Whistleblower Act. Even if he did, the motion says, Tomey "fails to state a cause for retaliation."
Tomey's complaint violates rules of the "Florida Rules of Civil Procedure," and any retaliation claimed by him is barred as a matter of law, the motion states.
"(Tomey's) conclusory allegations establish that he has not, nor can he meet, the pleading requisites for a breach of contract claim against the City," the city's motion states.
The email, sent by Tomey’s lawyer, Isidro Garcia of West Palm Beach,also said Moore was upset with Tomey's promotion of Craig Mahoney to division chief of logistics. The email said Tomey believed he was being subjected to retaliation by Moore because of those two events. It called on the city for an investigation, which was acted upon March 20.
The investigation was conducted by an outside firm, Ehrlich Law, based in Fort Lauderdale, and it found that Tomey's claim of sexual harassment against Moore "could not be substantiated, in that the evidence was insufficient to either prove or disprove the claim," the lawsuit states.
The report was completed April 28, and on May 1, Tomey was terminated by Moore for reasons related to an annual charity softball game between the city's police and fire departments, according to the lawsuit. The termination letter said Tomey authorized three on-duty firefighters to attend the charity softball game and placed Engine 112 out of service for more than four hours during the game. It made no mention of Moore's alleged unwanted sexual advances toward Tomey.
Lawsuit: Delray city attorney did not investigate fire chief's sexual harassment complaint
The lawsuit states that, after Moore's alleged advances toward Tomey, Tomey told city attorney Lynn Gelin about the incident in a phone call. Gelin's "knowledge and flippancy towards Mr. Moore's reported sexual harassment was later indicated in a text message," the lawsuit said. In the text to Tomey, Gelin says, "As long as he (Moore) doesn't rub anyone's knees I'm cool."
City policy requires an investigation into any sexual harassment claim. Gelin did not investigate Tomey's complaint, according to the lawsuit.
A few months later, in October 2022, Tomey texted Gelin regarding Moore's demand for Tomey to demote Mahoney, whom he'd previously promoted. In the text message exchange, provided in the lawsuit, Gelin called the demand "stupid." "Every time (Moore) opens his mouth, he confirms how incompetent he is," Gelin later texted Tomey.
Tomey's termination, according to the lawsuit, was "without cause, in violation of his contract of employment and in retaliation for objecting in writing to City Manager Terrence Moore's unlawful sexual advancements." Tomey has suffered damages, such as loss of pay and benefits, harm to his reputation and mental anguish, the lawsuit states.
The city does not comment on pending litigation, Director of Communications Gina Carter said.
But also on July 19, the date the city's motion to dismiss Tomey's lawsuit was filed, Moore sent Tomey a letter discussing additional grounds for his termination. It listed Tomey driving a city-owned vehicle with a suspended license in June 2023 and stated that the city obtained medical records showing that, from November 2022 through July 2023, Tomey was disqualified from being an active, responding firefighter.
Since Tomey's termination, Kevin Greenhas served as interim Fire Rescue Chief.Green is a native Floridian who began his fire-service career in 1984 with the West Palm Beach Fire Department. He's been with Delray Beach Fire Rescue since 2012.
Tomey, whose annual salary was $179,587, did not receive a payout after being terminated. He had been with the department since Dec. 27, 2016.
Also according to the lawsuit, Tomey is seeking:
- An award of damages, including lost wages and benefits.
- Compensatory damages for mental anguish, loss of reputation, inconvenience and loss of the enjoyment of life.
- Attorney's fees and costs.
- Equitable relief, including reinstatement or front pay in lieu thereof.
- Any other relief deemed just and proper.
The amount of damages sought by Tomey will be more than $75,000, not counting attorney's fees and costs.
Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach heratjfernandez@pbpost.comand follow heron X (formerly Twitter) at@jasminefernandz. Help support our work.Subscribe today.
