Facts

Plaintiff Kathleen Carroll was employed as a staff attorney by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing beginning in 2006. Plaintiff was terminated by the CTC in November 2010. Plaintiff filed suit against her former employer.

The case went to trial in July and August 2016. On Aug. 9, 2016, the jury returned a verdict for plaintiff in the amount of $2,844,528. The verdict included $2,094,528 for past and future economic loss; $750,000 for emotional distress; and $220,000 in punitive damages against plaintiff's two supervisors. The trial court awarded attorneys' fees and costs of $667,285.

On Aug. 23, 2020, the Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District reversed. It concluded that plaintiff's counsel asked questions that intruded on the defendants' exercise of their attorney-client privilege, implying that they had sought legal advice to determine how to file the plaintiff.

The case was set for a new trial in October 2022. The parties agreed to engage in mediation and settled the case for $3.3 million.

PLAINTIFF CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff's primary job was preparing cases involving criminal or other misconduct by teachers and other credentialed education employees and applicants for credentials for submission to the Committee on Credentialing. In late 2009 and early 2010 she reported the Commission's delay in processing serious and minor cases of misconduct, its
failure to timely revoke or suspend the credentials of teachers convicted or accused of acts involving sexual offenses and other serious crimes, issues of nepotism and favoritism, and other problems at CTC. Plaintiff reported these issues to her superiors, to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, and to the Bureau of State Audits.

Kathleen Carroll contended that the CTC's termination action was in retaliation for her whistle-blower activities and that her supervisors, General Counsel Mary Armstrong and Assistant General Counsel Lee Pope, began a scheme to terminate her employment as soon as they learned of her complaints.

The Joint Legislative Audit Committee released the BSA's report in April 2011, confirming all of the plaintiff's allegations, and publicly thanked her for her efforts.

DEFENDANT CONTENTIONS: Defendants Commission on Teacher Credential, Mary Armstrong, and Lee Pope contended that plaintiff's termination was solely the result of her misconduct, which included inappropriate relationships with Committee members, insubordination, rudeness, and dishonesty.

Result

Case settled in mediation for $3.3 million following jury trial and reversal on appeal.