NEWINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Dover woman who claims she was fired from her job as compliance director for gunmaker Sig Sauer, after reporting an unlawful shipment of firearms to an end user described as the “Indonesian way of spelling Ministry of Defense.”

U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty dismissed Patricia Hall-Cloutier's civil suit while also ruling it can be re-filed if Hall-Cloutier and Sig Sauer fail to come to an agreement through arbitration. She is alleging violation of whistleblower protection, wrongful termination and Family Medical Leave Act retaliation.

Sig Sauer successfully countered that Hall-Cloutier must arbitrate her claims out of court and through arbitration, per terms of her employment agreement.
 
McCafferty ruled last month that Hall-Cloutier’s employment agreement “does not include a provision that allows Hall to challenge her termination in court,” does include a clause mandating arbitration and notes she could be terminated at any time for any lawful reason. A copy of Hall-Cloutier’s “personal and confidential” termination letter was filed by Sig Sauer with the federal court and states she was terminated “due to restructure.”

Hall-Cloutier claimed in her suit she was hired by the Newington gunmaker in September 2015 as director of import/export compliance, was not the subject of any disciplinary action and was given performance-based raises in February and May of last year. She alleges that during her tenure with Sig, she “identified and reported instances in which documentation regarding the export of Sig Sauer weapons violated applicable United States laws regarding export license applications, agreements and regulations.”

Following those reports, and her request for family leave to care for an ill parent, she claims, she was terminated.