Facts

Plaintiffs were three former employees of the San Joaquin Regional Transit District who filed suit, alleging that they were fired due to helping a grand jury investigate allegations of the transit district's wrongdoing.

Bobby Kuhn was the former director of maintenance. He testified before a civil grand jury which eventually released a critical report of the transit agency. Kuhn claimed that after he told others at the district that he'd been called to testify, he was harassed and eventually lost his job. Kari Wilson and Stacy Douglas provided documents about the district's expenditures and consultants used by the district. The 2008 grand jury report criticized the transit district's use of consultants, among other things.

Result

The jury returned a $1.16 million verdict in favor of plaintiffs. The jury was unanimous in finding that Kuhn's testimony was a contributing factor in his firing. The jury voted 9-3 in finding that Wilson and Douglas's roles had contributed to their termination. The parties settled post-verdict for $1.5 million.

Other Information

FILING DATE: Aug. 27, 2008.