An attempt to resolve the federal lawsuit in which the former police chief of Northern Cambria Borough is suing the mayor and borough council has failed, according to a report submitted late last week to U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines.

Haines, who presides in Johnstown, last year ordered the parties to seek mediation of the lawsuit before attorney Kenneth J. Benson of Pittsburgh.

The report Benson submitted to the judge stated that a mediation session was held on Jan. 27 with the parties involved in the ongoing lawsuit.

The report, issued Jan. 29, indicated the case “has not resolved.”

The lawsuit was filed by former Police Chief Derek Stitt.

Stitt completed a 25-year career with the McKeesport Police Department and, in 2021, was hired as chief of the Northern Cambria department.

In November 2023, the mayor of the borough, Lisa Tomallo Mays, wanted Stitt to assign the department’s K-9 officer to serve as a school resource officer.

Stitt indicated he could not do that because the female officer was not trained for school duty.

She also filed a grievance protesting the reassignment.

Stitt supported the officer’s grievance.

The feelings between Stitt and Mays deteriorated after that.

Eventually the mayor, who was in charge of the department, placed Stitt on suspension, including a stint without pay.

Working conditions, according to the Stitt lawsuit, became “intolerable” to the point he resigned.

He contends his resignation was a “constructive discharge,” meaning that working conditions were so bad that a “reasonable person would resign.”

Borough council and the mayor sought dismissal of the lawsuit, but last October. Haines allowed the lawsuit to move forward, noting, “A plausible claim for constructive discharge exists.”

The judge determined Stitt can argue that his rights under the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments were violated and denied Mays the defense of qualified immunity.

No trial date has been set, but Haines in December ordered that all fact discovery be completed by May 15, 2026.

A post-discovery status conference is scheduled for June 15, 2026.