PORT TOWNSEND — The deadline for the city of Port Townsend and the Olympic Peninsula YMCA to take action to avoid a potential lawsuit has been extended to allow for the YMCA’s insurance adjuster to review the case.
Last week, the Center for American Liberty, a Virginia-based law firm, sent letters to Port Townsend and the YMCA demanding $350,000 in damages and the lifting of a ban against Julie Jaman, 82, who was ousted from the Mountain View Pool in 2022 following a confrontation with a transgender employee in the women’s locker room.
The letter gave a deadline of 5 p.m. March 27 for the city and the YMCA to respond, after which, “all options will be on the table, including the institution of legal proceedings in court.”
On Thursday, CFAL Associate Counsel Eric Sell said the firm had not heard back from the city but had spoken with the YMCA’s insurance adjuster, which had asked for more time to review the case. Sell said CFAL gave the YMCA until May 6 to respond, but it is still drafting a complaint against the city and the YMCA.
The city of Port Townsend and the YMCA did not immediately respond to request for comment.
“We’re drafting the complaint right now, and if the city doesn’t get back to us soon, we plan to file,” Sell said.
The case will likely be filed in federal court, Sell said, as CFAL is alleging violations of Jaman’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
