A Huntsville law firm has asked a federal judge to dismiss a wrongful termination lawsuit filed against downtown revitalization group Spirit of Athens by two former employees.

The motion to dismiss was filed by Lanier Ford, which is representing Spirit of Athens. The two ousted employees, Dana Hickman and Robbin Hines, are being represented by Huntsville-based Eric Artrip of Mastando & Artrip.

Artrip plans to file a response to Lanier Ford’s request when the judge sets a hearing date.

U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala has been assigned to hear the suit.

About the lawsuit

The lawsuit claims Hickman and Hines were fired in July while trying to bring financial transparency and accountability to the nonprofit corporation. Specifically, they claim they tried to investigate and secure an audit of SOA’s financial records in order to expose potential fraud. They say their termination was a violation of the retaliation provisions of the False Claims Act.

SOA Board President Doug Gates previously told The News Courier Hickman and Hines were not terminated due to questions over financial matters.

“The SOA board terminated the former executive director because it was not satisfied with her job performance …,” Gates said. “The SOA board terminated the director’s part-time assistant due to, among other things the board’s concerns about ongoing funding for her position and no current need for a director’s assistant.”