Union president’s lawyer in 4J lawsuit seeks attorney fees after fighting motion to strike

A lawyer for former teachers union president Sabrina Gordon is asking for more than $29,000 in legal fees for her work thus far — and the case isn’t over.

Gordon, the former president of the Eugene Education Association, 4J’s teachers union, is suing the district for failing to adequately investigate and address rumors about her having a sexual relationship with former 4J Superintendent Andy Dey. 

Her lawyer, Diane Sykes, said in her request for the legal fees that her work to defend against a district motion to strike the lawsuit forced her to lay out much of her case in one fell swoop. She is now asking that the district reimburse her for her legal fees, which total $29,609.50.

It is not unusual for a judge to award legal fees, although more typically these awards are made at the end of a lawsuit.

Both Gordon and Dey have denied the rumors. But part of Gordon’s lawsuit claims she was effectively forced out of the district because of the rumors. Among other claims, Gordon alleges the district’s inaction was a violation of its sexual harassment policies.

The district’s attorneys dispute the allegations.

Gordon filed the case four months ago, and it already contains nearly 500 pages of documents, sworn statements and motions.

A judge recently ruled against the motion to strike the lawsuit, rejecting the district’s argument that the case concerned constitutionally protected free speech; instead, Judge Charles Zennaché ruled the case centers on how the district responded to the rumors.

Union leaders’ falling out

Gordon’s lawsuit against 4J has also revealed previously unpublished details about what led to Dey’s separation from the district.

Sworn statements and state and district investigations paint a complex picture of the 2023-24 school year. Central to the drama was how Gordon’s friendship with Dey caused a breakdown in her relationship with former union Vice President Imelda Rodriguez De la Cruz. De la Cruz currently works for 4J as the English language development program coordinator. Gordon resigned from the district in September.

De la Cruz filed a formal complaint in October 2023, which led to Dey’s formal reprimand by the board in February 2024. Her complaint accused Dey of retaliating against her for participating in protected union activities, such as HR meetings about employee disciplinary cases. She also alleged racial and gender discrimination. The board substantiated the retaliation claim, but not the discrimination claims. Following the reprimand, the board decided not to renew Dey’s contract, and he mutually separated with the district at the end of June 2024, a year earlier than his contract intended.

In court documents, Gordon said she supported De la Cruz filing the complaint against Dey, but did not take any action because De la Cruz requested she stay out of it. 

Ex-union leader’s sex harassment suit against 4J can proceed, judge rules

De la Cruz saw matters differently, the court documents say: De la Cruz claims Gordon got angry at her when she filed the complaint and began treating her dismissively at meetings. Gordon was supportive of Dey’s performance in two separate communications with board members, according to sworn statements from board members Maya Rabasa and Jennifer Jonak. In her own statement, Gordon said she advocated for Dey’s contract extension because it was in the best interest of the union.

During the February 2024 meeting, at which board members substantiated De la Cruz’s complaint against Dey, Gordon joined Dey in his office. De la Cruz took that as a sign of Gordon’s support for Dey. De la Cruz resigned as vice president of the union later that month, blaming her resignation on Gordon’s actions.

“It is absolutely inexcusable that the EEA president could not have been there to represent me as a member because of their personal relationships with the superintendent, something that to me is now abundantly clear to me is a conflict of interest,” De la Cruz wrote in her resignation letter, which was included in the court documents.

Gordon and Dey have categorized their relationship as collegial and appropriate. But De la Cruz, among others cited in the lawsuit, thought Gordon and Dey’s friendship was inappropriate because school administrators and union officials frequently find themselves in adversarial positions, for example, in negotiating contracts or handling unfair labor practice allegations.

An investigation by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), included in the court filings, offers more information about the fraying relationship between De la Cruz and Gordon. 

In 2023, after the district decided to shrink its Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Gordon and De la Cruz made a joint statement against the decision at a school board meeting. De la Cruz told the BOLI interviewer that Gordon expressed hesitation to make the statement and regretted it afterward because of Dey’s negative reaction. She said in the BOLI interview that was an indication to her that Gordon, who is white, would not stand up for BIPOC people when necessary.

After resigning from her role as vice president, De la Cruz, who is Latina, ran with another union member in the spring of 2024 against Gordon for the positions of co-presidents and lost.

Rumors and complaints

The crux of Gordon’s lawsuit lies in how the district handled her complaints about rumors regarding her having a sexual relationship with Dey; the rumors started shortly after De la Cruz resigned. Gordon’s lawsuit alleges De la Cruz and another district employee, Bob Gray, were the source of the rumors. The school district argues Gordon has not produced evidence that would be admissible in court to prove this.

Gray worked for 4J as a substitute teacher and track coach in 2025 and worked for the Oregon Education Association, the statewide teachers union, from 2016-2024, where he got to know Gordon. Gordon talked with Gray in February 2024 about De la Cruz’s recent resignation, and according to Gray, shared details about her friendship with Dey. 

According to Gray’s sworn statement, the information made him uncomfortable and he told Gordon that she was violating professional boundaries with Dey. De la Cruz said in her BOLI interview that she spoke to Gray about the conversation. The rumors of Gordon’s affair with Dey began around this time.

Gray waited until Oct. 2, 2024, after he retired from OEA, to send an email to Gray, threatening to tell the Eugene Weekly about her alleged feelings for Dey if she did not resign as union president.

“I can no longer keep your secrets,” he stated. “I have shared what happened with a few colleagues.”

Former teachers union president sues 4J, alleging sex discrimination, harassment

Later that month, Sykes, Gordon’s lawyer, sent Gray a cease-and-desist letter ordering Gray not to contact Gordon. Gordon then filed sexual harassment complaints about the rumors with the district in November 2024 and again in September 2025.

The district’s policy defining sexual harassment includes “talking about one’s sexual behaviors in front of others; asking about another’s sexual history; or spreading rumors about or rating others as to appearance, sexual activity or performance.”

Doug Gouge, 4J Title IX coordinator, concluded in February 2025 that the rumors did not rise to the level of sexual harassment because they did not mention sexual activity, and further investigating the matter would perpetuate the rumors.

Gordon filed an appeal with then-Superintendent Colt Gill, who had replaced Dey, and claimed she did not receive a response from the district. When Lookout Eugene-Springfield asked 4J whether the district responded to Gordon’s appeal, communications director Kelly McIver said the district would address the question in the litigation process.

The former union president also filed a complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries about the district’s failure to investigate. The state’s investigation was in progress when Gordon requested that it be closed so that she could file her lawsuit this past fall. She requested the BOLI investigation files after the state closed the case.

The interviews from the state’s investigation are included in Sykes’ filings, but district lawyers have argued that they’re inadmissible in court because they were not made under oath. The judge has not ruled on whether the files were admissible.

“The notes are simply the investigator’s impressions of what the investigator believed the witnesses intended to say, and it is well established through case law that they are not admissible in Court,” stated attorney Jennifer Gaddis on behalf of the district.

Gordon’s September 2025 complaint revolved around Bob Gray’s initial email to her on Oct. 2, 2024, and subsequent actions that caused Gordon to feel threatened. The district dismissed the complaint on the grounds that Gray was not a district employee when he sent the October 2024 email and his actions as an employee throughout 2025 did not qualify as sexual harassment.

What’s next

Neither the district’s attorneys nor the judge have filed a response to Sykes’ request for attorney fees. 

If no other motions are made by either side, the case could proceed to the discovery phase, in which the district’s attorneys and Sykes will file more evidence to lay out their respective arguments in preparation for a trial. The case can be settled by agreement at any time.