A nine-year legal battle waged by former aircraft workers, who claim they lost their jobs because of their age, may have come to an end after a federal judge blocked their attorney from appealing the court's dismissal of their remaining claims because the paperwork was filed too late. KMUW's Carla Eckels reports...
The age discrimination lawsuit was sparked by the 2005 sale of Boeing's Wichita commercial operations to the parent company of Spirit AeroSystems.
The workers sued both aircraft companies, alleging the new owners did not hire the older workers to prevent them from gaining pension benefits.
U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren ruled that the attorney representing the employees had failed to file his notice of appeal on time.
According to Melgren, the court had "serious doubts about the candor and good faith" of the lawyer.
But James Gore, the plaintiffs' attorney, vowed Thursday that this is "not the end of the case” because he plans to appeal Melgren's refusal to allow more time to file the paperwork.
Gore also questioned the judge's impartiality, saying the court has taken the case to a personal level rather than addressing the legal issues raised.
