A federal judge on Jan. 30 ordered AACC and a former administrator who is suing the college to attempt to settle the case out of court.

Dr. Richard Cerkovnik, who now works at Montgomery College, sued the college’s Board of Trustees for nearly $2.4 million in November 2016.

Cerkovnik claimed the school discriminated against him because he is a man. He said in the lawsuit that administrators passed over him for a promotion to a higher position and then assigned him too much work.

A public officer of the state will hear both sides of the complaint and make recommendations that the parties can accept or reject before the suit goes to a judge again.

The majority of civil cases settle out of court this way because it is less expensive and faster than going before a full jury, according to a lawyer who teaches at AACC but is not involved with the lawsuit.

According to the complaint, AACC administrators refused to relieve Cerkovnik of his other duties when he was chosen to lead the National STEM Consortium—an alliance of 10 community colleges including AACC—despite a requirement connected to a federal grant the college receives.

Cerkovnik, the director of the Montgomery College STEM initiative, worked at AACC from 1989 until he quit in 2015.

Attorneys for Cerkovnik and AACC did not respond to Campus Current’s requests for comment.