PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A federal judge has awarded nearly $184,000 in attorneys’ fees to a former Rhode Island firefighter who won an $806,000 verdict against Providence and its fire department in a sexual harassment suit.
The Providence Journal reports that the judge on Nov. 7 issued an order awarding legal costs to retired Providence firefighter Lt. Lori Franchina.
Franchina had won the verdict in April. A judge later overturned $100,000 in punitive damages.
She filed suit in 2012, accusing her male colleagues of harassing and discriminating against her because she’s a woman and a lesbian. She said she developed severe post-traumatic stress disorder because of the constant mistreatment and alleged the city failed to stop it.
A spokeswoman for Mayor Jorge Elorza says the city intends to appeal.
