TUPELO - The city's former chief financial officer, Daphne Holcombe, will sue the mayor personally in conjunction with her ongoing lawsuit against the municipality.

The amendment complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi targets Mayor Ed Neelly individually for "malicious interference with employment."

It was filed in place of Holcombe's original suit against the city, which claimed sexual discrimination and the trampling of her rights to free speech.

Holcombe claims she was forced to resign after complaining about certain city expenses.

The original suit was filed in December, just two months after Neelly told Holcombe to resign by the end of the year. She refused, and the mayor fired her in January.

Jim Waide, who represents Holcombe, said his client had to sue the mayor personally because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which states that an employer can control the speech of its employees.

"I hate to sue the mayor individually," Waide said, "but we can't have them get out on some technicality."

By targeting Neelly as an individual rather than the employer, Waide said he hopes to circumvent the defense.

Pope Mallette, an Oxford-based attorney who represents Neelly and the city, said he plans to file a response to the amendment soon. But he offered no other comment because the case is ongoing.

Holcombe seeks actual damages from the city; she seeks actual and punitive damages from Neelly. And she wants her job back.

The trial has been set for June 7, 2010, in the U.S. District Court in Aberdeen. But both parties will have a chance to resolve their dispute before the case heads to court.

A mediation hearing has been scheduled for Thursday before Magistrate Judge Jerry A. Davis.

Contact Emily Le Coz at (662) 678-1588 or emily.lecoz@djournal.com.