A federal judge has ruled in favor of the city of Quincy in a suit brought by a former Central Services employee.

U.S. District Judge Colin Bruce ruled Jane Smith could not prove that her first amendment rights had been violated and granted the city’s motion for a summary judgment.

The case had been scheduled to go to trial in August.

Smith, an administrative assistant for Central Services, had alleged that she had lost her job in January of 2014 because she had spoken out against the city’s plan to privatize all residential garbage and recycling collection a few months earlier.

Judge Bruce said in his ruling that Smith had produced no evidence to establish that her speech was a motivating factor in the city’s decision to terminate her.

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