Trial postponed in Southampton discrimination suit

The trial date has been postponed in a federal lawsuit alleging the Southampton Town Police Department discriminated against a woman on the force.

The case, filed by Det. Sgt. Lisa Costa, was scheduled to go to trial Monday in Central Islip’s federal courthouse. But it was adjourned by U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Bianco because “the court is backlogged” with other trials, her attorney, Kelly Magnuson, said.

A new trial date will be set during a meeting on June 23, Magnuson said.

“We’ve been waiting for a year to go to trial,” Magnuson said.
Costa sued department and town officials in April 2014, alleging she was passed over for promotions and denied time off and overtime pay. She has been on the force since 1999.

Another woman in the department, then-Sgt. Susan Ralph, filed a separate gender discrimination lawsuit against the police department in February 2015. Ralph, who joined the force in 1994 and is now a lieutenant, is scheduled to have a pretrial conference on June 30.

Town attorneys did not respond to a request for comment