Baltimore County is using, at least for now, its own attorneys to defend two top officials accused of firing a worker who allegedly caught them in an “awkward scene,” according to court records.

County Attorney John Beverungen has asked a federal judge to dismiss a $1 million lawsuit filed by a former county employee who said she was fired after catching Administrative Officer Fred Homan in an “inopportune encounter” with Assistant County Attorney Suzanne Berger after work hours. Miriam Grice, 55, said she was demoted, twice suspended and ultimately fired in June after the April 2005 encounter.