Former Livingston Official's Gender Discrimination Suit Can Go To Trial: NJ Supreme Court

LIVINGSTON, NJ — A gender discrimination suit filed by the only female town manager in Livingston's history can go to trial, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided recently, overturning lower court rulings.

Michele Meade was terminated in 2016, an action she claimed was in response to her ongoing conflict with the town's police chief.

The Supreme Court published its decision at the end of last year. The opinion and summary are here: https://www.njcourts.gov/attorneys/assets/opinions/supreme/a_52_20.pdf?c=l2F

The court said, "Here, sufficient evidence was present for a reasonable jury to find that what Livingston Township Councilmembers perceived to be Police Chief [Craig] Handschuch’s discriminatory attitude toward Township Manager Meade influenced the Council’s decision to terminate her. Accordingly, the Court reverses the grant of summary judgment and remands this matter for trial."

The document refers to an incident in which a preschool went into lockdown in 2013 because they observed a man in camouflage outside holding a rifle bag. First responders heading to the scene were informed this was part of a police training exercise. An investigation determined that not all parties who should have known about the training were notified in advance.

This and other matters led to a conflict between Meade and Handschuch. A sergeant who helped organize the training filed a police complaint saying that Meade had an angry confrontation with him afterward about the incident, asking him, "What kind of ----ing operation are you running here?"

A resident filed an assault charge against her as well.

In late 2014, Meade was found not guilty of the charges.

In 2016, the Livingston council moved to fire Meade, citing a number of reasons, none seemingly related to that complaint.

The court summarized, "Plaintiff Michele Meade served as the Township Manager for Livingston Township for 11 years, from 2005 until her termination in 2016 by Resolution of the Township Council. The Council alleges that it terminated Meade because of her poor job performance. Meade, however, maintains that the Council terminated her to appoint a male replacement due to the gender bias of her male subordinate, Police Chief Craig Handschuch."

"The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the Township of Livingston, and the Appellate Division affirmed," the court noted. "For the following reasons,we hold that sufficient evidence was present for a reasonable jury to find that what Councilmembers perceived to be Handschuch’s discriminatory attitude toward Meade influenced the Council’s decision to terminate her."

Mayor Responds

In a story this week in TAPInto Livingston, Livingston Mayor Ed Meinhardt "expressed disappointment on behalf of the entire Township Council," according to the story, "and announced that the township will 'continue to vigorously defend the action to its rightful conclusion.' ”

Meinhardt told TAPInto, "The township continues to assert that the allegations in the complaint are completely without merit, evidenced by the very fact that all council members named in the complaint have been dismissed from the action.”

Meade filed her suit in 2020.

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