Opinion ID: 346586
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: December 6th Claim

Text: 25 With regard to the possibility of the plaintiff's abandonment of the December 6th allegation, the record considered as a whole supports contrary inferences. We agree that the plaintiff's formal complaint is not a model of lucid scrivenership although it was drafted at a time when she had at least some assistance from counsel experienced in discrimination litigation. On the other hand, nothing in the government's documents, including those prepared by the EEO Counselor, an attorney, unequivocally indicates that this discrimination allegation was abandoned because she may have changed the focus of her formal claim from that of discrimination directed against her personally to an allegation of discrimination directed generally against all women working for the VA. It is possible to read the complaint as asserting both claims and the EEO Counselor's January 17th report suggests both claims were asserted. On this record, we conclude that the resolution of this issue must await trial. 26