Pauline Higgins, who was fired on Feb. 23 as general counsel of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (Metro), has filed a defamation and whistleblower suit that names Metro and Frank J. Wilson, its president and chief executive officer, as defendants.
In Pauline Higgins v. Frank J. Wilson, et al., filed April 19 in 127th District Judge R.K. Sandill’s court, Higgins alleges Metro fired her because she had complained to Houston Mayor Annise Parker that the transit agency wasn’t complying with state laws governing document retention. She also alleges in the petition that Wilson defamed her with statements he made at press conferences and by providing a newspaper editorial board with “questionable documents from an alleged ‘investigation’ into Higgins’ management practices.”
