By DANIEL HERATY
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – An appeal to overturn a court ruling in favor of a former 19th District Court employee was dismissed Sept. 21 after the paperwork was filed with the wrong date.
The appeal stems from a 2008 civil case involving former 19th District Court probation officer Simone Calvas and 19th District Court Chief Judge Mark Somers.
In June, Calvas won a judgment of more than $460,000 against Somers after a jury determined that Somers did not follow a practice of progressive discipline when he fired Calvas in 2007. The lawsuit, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division, claimed that Calvas was never given a notice of written discipline, as per the court’s policy.
It also claimed that Somers unfairly targeted her due to her relationship with a former court employee.
Attorneys for Somers filed an appeal with the Wayne County Circuit Court Clerk July 8, but Michigan Court of Appeals Chief Judge William Murphy dismissed the appeal after the clerk did not set the date for when the case would be heard until July 13.
The clerk also failed to correctly date the case history, causing it to exceed the required 21 days from the June 20 ruling to the filing of the motion.
A hearing to correct the matter will be held at 9 a.m. Oct. 14 by Third Circuit Court Judge Jeanne Stempien.