RENO, Nev. - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a county administrator who claimed his attendance at a personal growth seminar left him emotionally harmed.
U.S. District Judge David Hagen dismissed the case against Washoe County filed by Charles ''Beau'' Wiseman.
In August 1998, Wiseman, the county's top bill collector, filed a civil rights suit against former county manager John MacIntyre.
Wiseman claimed MacIntyre demanded he attend a personal growth training course called Vistar to keep his job at the end of his annual performance review on March 3, 1997.
In his deposition, MacIntyre said he only suggested the training.
Wiseman claimed he reverted to drinking after 13 years of sobriety when he was forced to wear a tutu and dance as a ballerina in one mind-stretching exercise.
Wiseman also said he contemplated suicide after being forced to relive his Vietnam combat experiences in a Vistar group encounter session.
He then spent time in alcohol treatment programs and has been on medical leave since January.
The county board fired MacIntyre in May 1998 after he had been manager for 21 years. Three months later, two Washoe County Commissioners said his dismissal was partly due to his involvement with Vistar.
In the ruling filed on Tuesday, Hagen said he found no material facts concerning any civil rights violations that would justify sending Wiseman's case to a jury trial.
Kevin Mirch, Wiseman's attorney, said he intends to file Wiseman's case against the county in Washoe District Court.
He also said he will appeal Hagen's ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
