WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) — Trumbull County commissioners have responded to a filing in federal court asking for sanctions against Trumbull County Commissioner Niki Frenchko for comments she made during what an attorney said was during a deposition.

The case surrounds the civil lawsuit of Ernest Cook, the former 911 director who has filed a civil lawsuit against commissioners for his firing.

Earlier this month, Cooks’ attorney Caryn Groedel asked for $10,000 in attorneys fees to be awarded to her as sanctions because Frenchko used a degrading term for women while she was being deposed in the case.

Frenchko said the deposition had concluded when she made the comment.

In a filing this week opposing the sanction, the board of commissioners said that “Frenchko’s comment to plaintiff’s counsel was vulgar and inappropriate. The Board does not condone or excuse it. Nevertheless, Frenchko’s comment occurred after her deposition ended and it did not obstruct, delay or impede plaintiff’s ability to obtain discovery. Even if Frenchko could be sanctioned for a statement she made outside of any judicial proceedings, which is doubtful, her unauthorized comment certainly cannot be attributed to the Board,” the filing said.

In Frenchko’s filing, she said that she went through three days of depositions lasting hours and that on one day, she said she was suffering from a migraine and that she was in such pain that she had to wear sunglasses during the proceeding.

She went on to say that she was drinking water from a goblet and that Goedel accused her of drinking wine, which is false, Frenchko said.

Frenchko alleges that the depositions were longer than she was informed they would be and that Groedel was late for one of them.

A judge has yet to make a ruling on the sanctions.