Two former City of Regina employees have reached out-of-court settlements in their civil lawsuits against the municipality, resolving disputes over their terminations and severance packages. Ly Pham, who served as chief of staff for former city manager Niki Anderson, and Audra Young, the Indigenous relations director, have both withdrawn their legal claims following confidential agreements.
Legal Disputes Resolved Without Court Intervention
George Green of McKercher LLP, the legal representative for both Pham and Young, confirmed to the Regina Leader-Post that the matters "have been satisfactorily resolved between the parties outside of court." The lawyer declined to provide further details about the settlements, citing client confidentiality. Similarly, the City of Regina has declined to comment on the specific terms or circumstances surrounding the resolution of these cases.
Background of the Termination Claims
The civil actions stemmed from terminations that occurred on April 30, 2025, the same day that former city manager Niki Anderson began an indefinite leave of absence. Anderson's contract was subsequently terminated without cause by city council on July 30, 2025. Both Pham and Young alleged in their statements of claim that the city had "breached" their employment contracts by terminating them without providing severance that represented the full salary and benefits they would have received during their fixed-term employment periods.
According to court documents, Pham's employment contract spanned from March 1, 2023 to February 29, 2028, while Young's contract covered February 7, 2022 to February 5, 2027. Both plaintiffs were seeking damages resulting from what they claimed was early termination of their five-year contracts.
City's Position and Defense
In its statements of defense, the City of Regina denied that the former employees were "wrongfully or improperly terminated" and contested the existence of "fixed-term contracts" that would legally obligate the municipality to pay severance for the entire employment period if termination occurred without cause. The city specifically disputed Young's amended claim that she was "escorted" from city hall after her termination, stating that it "disputes that the Plaintiff was terminated in a humiliating and unduly insensitive manner as alleged or otherwise."
According to the city's legal response, Pham received two months of severance in accordance with her contract's clause, plus three months severance for each year of employment. Young was provided with three months severance plus an additional three months for each year she had been employed by the municipality.
Withdrawal of Legal Claims
Court documents show that both former employees filed discontinuances of their claims in December and February, effectively ending the litigation process. The resolution comes after months of legal proceedings that began when the civil claims were initially filed on July 4, 2025. The out-of-court settlements represent a conclusion to what could have been protracted legal battles between the former employees and their municipal employer.
The settlements mark the latest development in a series of personnel changes within Regina's municipal government leadership. The resolution of these cases through private settlement rather than court adjudication suggests both parties found mutually acceptable terms to conclude the employment disputes without further legal proceedings.
