LAW & DISORDER: Duval schools lose age-based suit

A jury agreed that age got a counselor booted from a retirement plan.

The Times-Union

A jury has awarded a guidance counselor $208,000 in her age discrimination lawsuit against the Duval County School Board.

Donna L. Reilly, 70, was awarded $75,000 for mental anguish and $133,000 in lost wages following a weeklong trial in U.S. District Court. Her attorney, Scott Fortune, said Reilly was satisfied with the verdict. A judge will decide attorney's fees later.

The school system refused to allow Reilly to extend her participation in the state retirement program beyond her original retirement date of September 2003, and the jury found that decision was based on her age. But jurors also found that the school system didn't willfully violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which could have doubled the award.

City attorney Ernst Mueller, representing the School Board, called the verdict a compromise. He said the board hasn't decided whether to appeal.

[Click Here To Read Verdict]