On the evening of Feb. 22, 2007, plaintiff Troy Collier, a fire captain for the Windsor Fire Protection District, was out going to bars in Windsor with a group of roughly a dozen people, including fellow Windsor firefighters, when a physical altercation broke out between Collier and fellow fire captain Ron Busch. An administrative Skelly Hearing subsequently took place on March 26, 2007, to determine the discipline for Collier, a public employee. As a result of the hearing, Collier was formally terminated the following day, on March 27, 2007. Collier sued the Windsor Fire Protection District Board of Directors; as well as Chief of the Windsor Fire Protection District, Ronald Collier (his stepfather); Battalion Chief Matt Gustafson; and Battalion Chief Joe Giordani. He alleged the defendants wrongfully terminated him and violated his 14th amendment rights for failure of due process. Collier contended that the defendants failed to engage in the administrative process for a public employee, in that he was deprived of due process. Specifically, he claimed that at the Skelly Hearing, Gustafson, who served as the hearing officer, only listened to the audio statement of Bush’s wife and omitted 12 other statements taken from witnesses on the evening of the incident in question. Collier further argued that when he was terminated, the board cited reasons that were not presented at the Skelly Hearing and also presented similar unknown evidence at the initial evidentiary hearing that followed. At that first evidentiary hearing, the arbitrator found that Collier was improperly terminated, but Collier claimed that the board would not act on the ruling, causing him to file the lawsuit after exhausting all administrative remedies. The defendants contended that the proper remedy for due process was followed as to Collier’s discipline and termination, and that the Windsor Fire Protection District has extremely high control over its employees’ conduct. They also contended that Collier provoked the fight on Feb. 22, 2007, by making an advance on Bush’s wife, and that he had a history of being immoral and sexually aggressive. In response, Collier claimed that the defendants had attempted to vilify him and that he did not make any sexual advances toward Bush’s wife, but rather put his arm around her shoulder due to a lack of space in the limousine on the evening in question. He also claimed that Bush was the aggressor in the fight and that Bush had a history of domestic violence issues. In addition, Collier claimed that despite all of this, he was disciplined and terminated while Bush received no discipline. The defendants responded that there were disciplinary consequences for Bush, administered in accordance with the District’s policies and procedures., Collier claimed that he suffered emotional distress as a result of the incident and termination. Thus, he sought recovery of damages for his lost earnings and back pay, as well as damages for his emotional distress. Plaintiff’s counsel also sought compensatory fees.