« Ind. Courts - Distribution of cases when two judges facing charges | Main | Environment - More on: "EPA Closure of Libraries Faulted For Curbing Access to Key Data" »

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Ind. Courts - More re: U.S. District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen first jury trial [Updated]

Updating this ILB entry from July 7th, quoting a NWI Times story by Joe Carlson, today the Times has a story reported by Carolyn Thompson, headlined "Judge rules in favor of fired worker." Some quotes:

HAMMOND | U.S. District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen on Friday ruled in favor of Blanca Camacho in her wrongful termination suit against East Chicago. Late last year, a federal jury returned verdicts totaling $250,000 in favor of Camacho.

Camacho's attorney, Anthony DeBonis, said that Van Bokkelen entered judgment on the verdict in full and he and his client were pleased.

Damian Rico, East Chicago spokesman, said City Attorney Carmen Fernandez would file an appeal. * * *

East Chicago attorneys would have to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago, which will take about a year and a half, DeBonis said.

Camacho was working as a restaurant inspector when she was fired in 2005, just months after Mayor George Pabey took office. She said she was fired for political reasons and sued Pabey, the city and its human resources chief, records show.

Jurors in November awarded her $250,000, including $25,000 in punitive damages, for violation of her First Amendment rights.

In April, East Chicago attorneys filed a motion asking the judge to reverse the verdict and enter a judgment on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

Documents show Camacho is among more than two dozen former East Chicago workers who were fired shortly after Pabey took office. She is the only city worker to have a jury decide in her favor.

[Updated 8/5/08] A story in the Gary P-T today includes this quote:
DeBonis has filed 17 wrongful termination lawsuits against the city since Pabey took office.

So far, only Camacho has reached trial. Camacho made less than $40,000 a year in her job as a restaurant inspector, DeBonis said.

In a similar case, Joanna Kollintzas, wife of former City Councilman Frank Kollintzas, and her daughter, Thespena, reached a $350,000 settlement with the School-City, which is controlled by Pabey appointees on the School Board. Other DeBonis clients have reached smaller settlements.

Debonis said Monday he had been contacted by "numerous" employees who were dismissed in June in another wave of payroll cuts.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 3, 2008 09:20 AM
Posted to Ind Fed D.Ct. Decisions