“A Langley woman who sued the city of Langley earlier this year for allegedly discriminating against her under the Americans with Disabilities Act will have to go to the United States Court of Appeals if she hopes to win a judgement.Julane Mirka sued Langley after Mayor Lloyd Furman dismissed her from her volunteer position with the city clerk’s office in February 1998. Claiming Furman did so while she was in cancer treatment, Mirka sued the city on the grounds that Furman had violated the ADA and the federal Rehabilitation Act.In a memo sent to city staff and Mirka at the time of the dismissal, Furman did state that the city could not expect Mirka to continue working eight to 16 hours a week at the front desk of city hall while she progressed through her illness.But U.S. District Court Judge David Wilson did not consider that memo or Furman’s decision to be evidence of a violation of the ADA or the Rehabilitation Act.In his decision issued Dec. 20, Wilson sided with the city, writing that even as a volunteer for the city, Mirka was not covered under the acts. The only way she could sue on those grounds, he wrote, would be if she had been part of an organized volunteer program that received some sort of official funding.“Although plaintiff’s contributions of her time and energies to the betterment of her city are laudable, and worthy of encouragement, this case does not present a cause for federal relief under any of the theories argued by Plaintiff,” he wrote.Further, Wilson ruled that Mirka was not dismissed from service entirely due to her illness. Mayor Furman testified that he asked Mirka to leave after he observed her disrupting receptionist and city hall functions while volunteering.After hearing Wilson’s decision, Furman said the outcome of the case was exactly what he had hoped for.“This is what we expected,” he said. “The council, myself, the insurance company, and our attorneys … felt this was an unjustified lawsuit.”Mirka herself would not comment on the case, but her attorney, Todd Nichols, did. He said he and Mirka plan to take the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Nichols disagreed with the logic behind Wilson’s decision.“He has not decided this case on its merits,” Nichols said.In the Court of Appeals, Nichols thinks they have a better chance.“I think we have an excellent case.”Nichols said he will file an appeal by next week. Neither party has disclosed how large a monetary judgement Mirka is seeking.”