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Federal court sides with Roncalli in former guidance counselor's suit

Shelly Fitzgerald filed the suit back in 2019, claiming she was fired from her job and banned from the campus.

INDIANAPOLIS — A federal court has sided with Roncalli High School in a lawsuit filed by a guidance counselor who was let go for being in a same-sex marriage.

Shelly Fitzgerald filed the suit back in 2019.

(Note: The video above is a previous 13News story about Fitzgerald's lawsuit against the school.)

On Friday, Judge Richard Young ruled that Roncalli was within its rights to let Fitzgerald go because of a "ministerial exception."

RELATED: Shelly Fitzgerald suing Roncalli and Archdiocese of Indianapolis

She could still file an appeal.

Back in July, an appeals court ruled in favor of Roncalli in a similar case involving former guidance counselor Lynn Starkey.

RELATED: Former guidance counselor's termination by Roncalli upheld by Court of Appeals

Fitzgerald was placed on administrative leave in 2018. Her suit claimed she was subsequently banned from campus and fired from her job over it. She had sought a jury trial and damages for back pay with interest, punitive damages for emotional distress and mental anguish, losses she has sustained and will sustain and attorney fees.

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