QUITMAN — The lawyer for a former Quitman city manager who says his firing was racially motivated expects a lawsuit to go to trial in 2019.

William Felts, city manager from May 2016 to January 2018, claims in a federal lawsuit that he was unlawfully fired from his job for racial reasons.

He also claims the city has stopped paying severance package payments to him in retaliation for filing an official civil rights complaint, according to court documents.

The lawsuit was filed May 22 in the federal court for the Middle District of Georgia.

The claims in Felts’ lawsuit suggest a pattern of firings or demotions of white city workers in favor of African-American personnel.

Felts, who is white, is suing the City of Quitman and four individuals: Mayor Nancy Dennard and councilmembers Lula Smart, Robby Christian and Mattie Nelloms, said Daniel Cole, Felts’ attorney, of the Atlanta law firm of Parks, Chesin and Walbert.

The mayor and all three councilmembers being sued are African-American.

“This is a case of reverse discrimination,” Cole said.

On Jan. 2, newly elected Mayor Dennard presided over a Quitman City Council meeting where council voted to fire Felts, with Dennard, Smart, Christian and Nelloms voting to dismiss him, the lawsuit claims. Only Councilmember Mark DeVane voted to keep Felts in office.

An African-American man was chosen as interim city manager, according to the lawsuit.

At the same meeting, council voted to fire the white city clerk and replace her with an African-American woman, Felts’ court filing shows.

After the Jan. 2 meeting, Quitman’s police chief, a white man, was demoted to purchasing agent while an African-American officer was promoted over him first to interim chief, then to permanent police chief, according to the lawsuit.

Also in January, the city’s fire chief resigned, and his replacement, an African-American shift supervisor, was promoted to chief over the white assistant chief, Felts’ filing claims.

“Numerous other city positions have been replaced or filled with African-American employees pursuant to the city’s pattern and practice of unlawful racial discrimination,” according to the lawsuit.

Felts filed a discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Feb. 27, after which severance package payments the city owed him under his contract were stopped, allegedly in retaliation, Felts’ court filing claims.

The city, the mayor and the three councilmembers are being sued for violations of the 14th Amendment and its “equal protection clause,” which guarantees all persons equal protection under the law, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids racial discrimination in employment, the lawsuit states.

The defendants are also being sued for breach of contract for failing to pay his severance payments, Felts’ court filings show.

The lawsuit seeks Felts’ reinstatement as city manager with full back pay, or, if not possible, payment in restitution including future benefits such as “front pay,” medical insurance and a pension; pain and suffering damages; punitive damages; and attorney’s fees.

In a response to the lawsuit filed with the court, the defendants deny the allegations and claim:

• that Felts’ legal complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted;

• that any actions against Felts were taken “in good faith without malice or reckless indifference to plaintiff’s protected rights;”

• that Title VII doesn’t apply because Felts didn’t file a discrimination complaint with the EEOC in time or because the lawsuit’s claims “are not within the scope of any charge of discrimination filed by plaintiff;”

• the defendants cannot be sued because of the “sovereign immunity” principle, which holds that government agencies cannot be sued unless they give permission to do so.

Cole said after a period of “discovery” — essentially a fact-finding period — the trial is likely to go to court next year.

The attorney for the defendants could not be immediately reached.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.