ATLANTA - Georgia Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker announced today that his office has prevailed in a long-standing employment case and obtained a reversal of an earlier jury award of almost $2 million.

The case, Narey v. Dean, was filed in federal district court in Atlanta in 1990. It involved the director of a community mental health program who was demoted in June of 1988. When his demotion was upheld after a seven-day administrative hearing, the employee filed suit in federal court in 1990, claiming that the demotion had violated his constitutional rights. He initially received a jury award of $1.75 million and attorneys fees of approximately $200,000. The Attorney General took two appeals to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, winning both. On June 30,1998, District Judge Harold L. Murphy granted the state's second post-appeal motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff's decision not to appeal Judge Murphy's order brings this 8-year litigation to a close.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Carol Cosgrove represented the state on the appeals and filed the successful motion for summary judgment.