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 work