Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Ends in $2 Million Recovered
Posted on Jun 24, 2015 2:42pm PDT
After more than three years, the case of Debi Humann, the former City of
Edmonds Human Resources Director, has finally come to a close. Humann
charged the City of Edmonds, former Mayor Michael Cooper, and current
Mayor Dave Earling with wrongful termination, denial of her First Amendment
rights, defamation, and retaliation. Humann was represented by Attorneys
Beth Barrett Bloom and
Jillian M. Cutler of Frank, Freed, Subit & Thomas LLP.
The unlawful retaliation stemmed from Humann’s cooperation with a
Washington State Auditor’s Office investigation in 2011. After a
complaint from an anonymous whistleblower, the state auditor’s office
began to look into accusations of public funds being used to pay the $79,000
salary of Cooper's executive assistant. It was stated that the executive
assistant had not worked all of the time written on her time sheets, that
she had used unearned vacation time, and that Cooper had approved payments
knowing all of this.
Humann had cooperated with the State Auditor and had turned over the executive
assistant’s time sheets, which had been signed and approved by Cooper.
Per court papers, Humann was called into Cooper’s office and fired
the very next day. Cooper claimed he could no longer trust Humann. He
then sent out a news release implying that it was Humann who had engaged
in misconduct. This false statement was reproduced in numerous publications.
In 2011, Cooper was defeated by Dave Earling who took office in December
of that year. Cooper’s executive assistant was immediately dismissed
upon Earling becoming mayor. Earling reviewed Humann’s claim against
Cooper and reinstated her as the Human Resources Director. However, after
two weeks, she was “laid off” as a “cost-cutting measure.”
Humann’s trial lasted for three weeks and concluded in November 2014.
A jury found that Humann had been wrongfully terminated and that she had
been retaliated against for filing a complaint. It was also found that
Cooper had defamed Humann for statements made in the press. Human was
awarded a total of $1,035,351. Following this successful trial, Humann
and her legal team filed a motion to recover another $1 million to cover
her attorney’s fees and related expenses. On June 17, 2015, the
U.S. District Court ordered that the City and Cooper pay Humann that money.
Click here if you would like to read the full judgment.
Commenting on the outcome of the trial, lead trial counsel Beth Barrett
Bloom praised the jury’s decision. “Debi Humann is exactly
the kind of government employee we want guarding our taxpayer dollars.
She did the right thing at great personal cost.”