Case Summary:

Richmond v. Sorensen is a federal civil employment‑discrimination case brought by plaintiff Julia Richmond against defendant Alan J. Sorensen arising out of the termination of her employment as deputy commissioner of the Orange County Planning Department and director of the County’s Transportation Council, with the case now on appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit under docket number 25‑241 and argued on January 28, 2026.

At the lower court level in the Southern District of New York (case no. 7:22‑cv‑10075 (VB)), Richmond alleged that Sorensen, who became commissioner in March 2020, terminated her on December 8, 2021, without giving any reason, despite her nearly 25 years of public‑sector service and satisfactory performance, and then replaced her, at least temporarily, wit ...