Gibbons V. Gibbs Et Al

Case Background

On June 26, 2023, Christine Gibbons filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging employment discrimination and wrongful dismissal before the United States District Court, Virginia Western (Lynchburg). The case was assigned to District Judge Robert S. Ballou and referred to Magistrate Judge C. Kailani Memmer. [Case number: 6:23cv35]

Cause

Christine Gibbons served as the director of elections and general registrar for Lynchburg, Virginia, from June 1, 2018. As a general registrar, Gibbons enjoyed protection from removal without cause under Va. Code Sec. 24.2-122 and from Virginia election statutes, which allowed removal only for documented performance issues.

Lynchburg’s Electoral Board, consisting of three members appointed by the Chief Judge of the Lynchburg Circuit Court, oversees elections and appoints registrars. This board must perform annual performance reviews of the general registrar.

At the time of the complaint, the board included Chair David Neumeyer, Vice Chair Steven Troxel, and Secretary Betty Ann Gibbs. Both Troxel and Gibbs were Republicans. Gibbs, prior to her board role, had worked as a poll worker in Campbell County and had obstructed the election process.

In January 2019, Wendell Walker withdrew Gibbs’ nomination to the board due to these issues. Leading up to the November 3, 2020, general election, Gibbs increasingly voiced unfounded suspicions about local election administrators. On October 7, 2020, she spent four hours in the registrar’s office attempting to intimidate staff. Later, she accused the General Registrar’s Office of corruption and failed in her petition against Gibbons.

On January 6, 2021, Gibbs traveled to a Washington protest to express her opposition to the election results. During the November 2, 2021 election, Gibbs and her colleagues, including Republicans, aggressively challenged election procedures and harassed poll workers.

By December 2022, when a board member’s term ended, the Lynchburg Republican City Committee proposed Troxel as the replacement. In January 2023, Troxel requested a virtual meeting link for a political activist associated with claims of election fraud. Subsequently, Gibbs and Troxel voted to open Gibbons’ position for new applications, eventually deciding to replace her with Daniel Pense, a Republican-affiliated candidate, despite no performance issues with Gibbons. This decision seemed motivated by partisan animus rather than Gibbons’ job performance.

Damages

The alleged discrimination and politically motivated dismissal, in violation of the Constitution, caused Ms. Gibbons significant stress, heartache, disappointment, grief, anger, loss of sleep, and reduced quality of life. Despite these issues, she continued to perform her job. She sought monetary compensation for the harm caused.

Gibbons argued that no legal remedy could fully address the violations she faced, making injunctive relief necessary. She claimed that the violations were willful, deliberate, and intentional, justifying punitive damages.

Key Arguments and Proceedings

Legal Representation

  • Plaintiff(s): Christine Gibbons
    • Counsel for Plaintiff(s): Stephen Barkai Pershing | Anna Kathryn Barnes Barry
  • Defendant(s): Betty Ann Gibbs in her official capacity as Secretary of the Lynchburg Electoral Board, and in her personal capacity | Steven Troxel in his official capacity as Vice Chair of the Lynchburg Electoral Board, and in his personal capacity
    • Counsel for Defendant(s): Blaire Hawkins O’Brien | David Patrick Corrigan | Maurice Scott Fisher, Jr

Claims

The Plaintiff brought the lawsuit against all the Defendants, in all capacities, on the following count:-

  • Politically Motivated Dismissal in Violation of the Federal Constitution – The Defendants violated Gibbons’ First Amendment rights by seeking, proposing, and voting to remove her in favor of a politically aligned replacement. This action breached her freedom of expression and political association. The rights in question were clearly established at the time of the violations, and reasonable officials should have known about them. Additionally, if Gibbs and Troxel committed these violations in their personal capacities, they would be individually liable to Gibbons as well.

Defense

Troxel and Gibbs denied any wrongdoing and disputed that Plaintiff experienced a constitutional violation or any compensable injury due to their actions. The defense argued that they had not politically motivated Gibbons’ dismissal.

The defense asserted that they carried out all actions in accordance with their legal obligations as members of the Lynchburg Electoral Board. They claimed that their actions were reasonable, necessary, justifiable, and in compliance with Virginia law. Furthermore, Gibbs stated that she acted in good faith based on legitimate reasons, not on retaliation, illegality, or unconstitutionality.

Jury Verdict

On August 16, 2024, the Virginia jury determined that partisan political considerations were not a substantial factor in Betty Ann Gibbs and Steven Troxel’s decision not to reappoint Gibbons as General Registrar. No damages were awarded.

Court Documents:

Available upon request