The Iowa Supreme Court has decided to revisit a sex-discrimination lawsuit it ruled on in December concerning a woman being fired from her job for being too "irresistible," according to ABC News.
Melissa Nelson had been working as a dental hygienist for ten years when her boss, Dr. James Knight, surprised her by terminating her on the grounds that she was so attractive that she was a threat to his marriage.
Knight was most likely prompted to fire his attractive hygienist because his wife objected to the two exchanging text messages outside of the office. Knight dismissed Nelson in the presence of a pastor while explaining that she had become a "detriment" to his family even though "she was the best dental assistant he ever had," NBC News reports.
Originally the all-male Iowa State Supreme Court ruled that Knight's actions were legal since they were not based explicitly on gender. An attorney for Knight, Stu Cochrane, released a statement saying that they are not worried about the case being revisited.
"Dr. Knight's dismissal of Mrs. Nelson was perfectly legal according to all of the well-established case law not only in Iowa but in every other jurisdiction that has considered similar claims," Cochrane said.
Nelson was hopeful that the court would see things differently this time around.
"I can tell you she was surprised and delighted by the news that the Iowa Supreme Court has withdrawn its earlier ruling," Paige Fiedler, Nelson's attorney, told ABC News. "Not only does this breathe new life into her court case, it eliminates what many of us believed as a harmful legal and misguided precedent."
Ryan Koopmans, an attorney from Des Moines who is not affiliated with the case, told ABC News that the court won't be hearing any new evidence but it is very likely that a new opinion will be issued.
"The only thing that's changed here is the public's reaction to the decision, which was mostly negative," Koopmans said. "There really is no reason to grant rehearing six months after the decision was made unless someone is seriously considering changing their mind. I think we'll definitely see at least one opinion in favor of Melissa, the question is whether it is the majority opinion of dissenting opinion."
It is unknown how long the court will reconsider the case but a ruling could be expected as early as Friday according to NBC News.
