Morrow County Health District CEO Emily Roberts reads a letter Feb. 21, 2024, expressing her concerns about the county ambulance service plans at the Morrow County Board of Commissioners meeting in Irrigon. Roberts announced March 31 that she will step down from her position at a regular board meeting at Morrow County Grain Growers in Lexington. (Yasser Marte/East Oregonian, File)

PENDLETON – The attorney for the Morrow County Health District and its former CEO has filed a response to a former employee’s $1.5 million federal lawsuit naming them as defendants.

Portland attorney Kimberlee C. Morrow filed the response June 27 for the health district and Emily Roberts. The response asserts qualified immunity for Roberts as well as defenses that the lawsuit from paramedic Samantha Ward is not within the statute of limitations and fails “to allege facts sufficient to constitute a claim against the defendants.”

The Morrow County Health District hired Ward in March 2024 and in September of that year promoted her to EMS supervisor for Irrigon. The district fired Ward on Jan. 29. Attorneys for Ward filed the lawsuit May 2 in federal court in Pendleton. The suit claims the district fired her for suing her previous employer.

According to the lawsuit, Ward on Dec. 29, 2024, received complaints of gender discrimination about one of her subordinate paramedics. That led to the health district investigating the complaints and placing the paramedic on leave.

Ward in the lawsuit claims she became aware of an email union official Jesse Reynen sent to Emily Roberts, then the CEO of the health district, to be careful with Ward because she “seems sue happy.”

Ward in her lawsuit claims the termination was because of her civil case she brought against Benton County Fire District No. 1 in the Washington. Ward earlier this year settled that suit and received an award of $676,275.

In the lawsuit against the MCHD and Roberts, Ward seeks $1.5 million plus recovery costs and reasonable attorney fees.

The response to Ward’s suit states the MCHD did conduct an investigation into allegations of gender discrimination regarding a paramedic pursuant to the health district’s policy but denies other assertions Ward made in the lawsuit “on the grounds defendants do not have sufficient information to admit or deny and/or they are untrue.”

The response also confirms the health district terminated Ward’s employment on Jan. 29 after determining “she was not a good fit for the position and that she was on probation. As to the remainder of the allegations no response is required since they are statements of opinion or conjecture.”

The response also states the defendants are entitled to recover their attorney fees and costs.

Federal court records do not show any dates for hearings in the case.