MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A former Minnesota Senate aide who was fired over an affair with the chamber's majority leader is narrowing his lawsuit against the state.
Michael Brodkorb was fired last year after Senate leaders discovered his affair with then-Majority Leader Amy Koch. Brodkorb is suing the state over his dismissal.
In legal papers filed Thursday, the two sides agreed that Brodkorb would drop several invasion-of-privacy claims related to media reports that he had filed unsuccessfully for unemployment benefits.
His attorney, Phil Villaume, said he and his client decided to narrow the lawsuit to the defamation and gender discrimination claims. Brodkorb has claimed that he was unfairly treated because female Senate staffers carried on affairs without being punished.
Recently, the tab for the Minnesota Senate's legal costs related to the lawsuit topped $100,000.
The Associated Press obtained copies of the latest two invoices, which totalled $17,719 from a private firm -- Larkin Hoffman Attorneys -- for work performed in June and July.
Combined with legal bills going back to January, the Senate's costs have reached over $102,403 in the continuing legal dispute.
Brodkorb filed the suit last month, alleging that he was treated unfairly because female employees involved in similar relationships didn't lose their jobs.
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