Todd F. Nevell

Nevell, a name partner at Scolinos, Sheldon & Nevell, was lead attorney when his firm attained one of the top verdicts of 2017: $17.4 million for a former Los Angeles city sanitation worker on claims of sexual harassment and retaliation.

A superior court jury voted 12-0 that James Pearl endured repeated harassment by his supervisors, who falsely perceived that he was gay and spread the misperception among co-workers.

“We learned that the Bureau of Sanitation has historically been a work environment hostile to any other than straight white males,” Nevell said. His client was a straight, married wastewater supervisor; his superiors believed he was in a same-sex relationship with a subordinate. To prove it, they altered photos of the two that made them appear to be close. “Then they passed the photos around to other employees,” Nevell said.

The harassment campaign devastated Pearl and harmed his relationship with his wife, who suffered fallout in her social life, Nevell said. “But it was no slam dunk of a case. Their defense was essentially that none of this happened. But my client was so beaten down. He was a dedicated employee and a really good manager. Now he’s got depression, anxiety and permanent heart problems.”

“I’d hope that we’ve advanced enough in most cases where being perceived as gay isn’t damaging or harmful,” Nevell added. “However, this is a department that is stuck in the Dark Ages in how they treat people, especially gay individuals.”

He said the senior executives responsible for the harassment perjured themselves on the witness stand. “They denied everything, but we found secretarial staff who came in and testified that they had been shown these images by the executives, who mocked Mr. Pearl.”

When Pearl took the stand, Nevell said “he was direct, soft-spoken and compelling about how he had been affected.” The jury was out only about two hours.

“Now he feels vindicated,” Nevell said. “He was in tears. He’s hopeful.”

Post-trial, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge J. Stephen Czuleger trimmed $5 million from the award. He wrote that “numerous city employees, and most importantly, managers perjured themselves repeatedly during trial.”

The perjury was evident to the judge “but more importantly to the jury,” Czuleger wrote. Pearl v. City of Los Angeles, BC518568 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Aug. 15, 2013).

The city has filed a notice of appeal; its opening brief to the 2nd District Court of Appeal is due this summer. Nevell said he will be defending the trial’s outcome.

“The verdict exceeded our demand,” he said.

— John Roemer