The city of Prescott, Arizona and KayAnne Riley, locked in litigation since 2010, have been ordered by a mediator for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to meet in order to engage in ‘meaningful settlement discussions.’

The lawsuit centers on Riley’s claim that Prescott Mayor Marlin Kuykendall pressured the Humane Society to fire Riley, who worked there as Marketing Director.  Riley claims this was in retaliation for her involvement in protests against the city.  Riley’s suit claims violations of her right to free speech as such retaliation could have a ‘chilling effect’ regarding future legal protests.

The bulk of the lawsuit is on hold, however, and the mediation specifically deals with an appeal by the city over a ruling that they must cover Riley’s legal fees spent attempting to recover emails from the mayor’s office they believed to be relevant.  The court found that the Mayor’s office had ‘acted willfully and in bad faith, and, thus, with a culpable state of mind’ in delaying this effort and ultimately declaring the emails had been deleted.

The mediator’s order compels Riley and her lawyers as well as the city’s lawyers to attend a July 30^th meeting to discuss a settlement.  Mayor Kuykendall is not ordered to appear personally and will likely not attend the meeting.  The main lawsuit cannot proceed until this specific appeal is settled, and the judge in the case believes mediation will be the fastest way to move on to the rest of the proceedings.