San Diego jury awards ex-Allstate staffer more than $18 million in wrongful termination case

A San Diego jury this week awarded a former insurance company employee upward of $18 million for firing him following an arrest that ultimately saw the dismissal of all charges.

The jury found Allstate Insurance Co. liable for about $2.6 million in actual damages Thursday, and the following day, added nearly $16 million to the award for punitive damages to the plaintiff, Michael Tilkey.

The verdicts came after a nearly weeklong trial in San Diego Superior Court.

An Allstate spokeswoman said the company plans to appeal.

Tilkey, who had worked for Allstate for 30 years, said he feels “vindicated after three years battling this.”

“Now I feel like I have justice,” he said Friday.

His attorney, Joann Rezzo, said firing Tilkey violated state labor law, which she said prohibits employers from considering arrest records that don’t result in a conviction in a decision to fire an employee.

“It sends a message to corporate America that if you are going to do biz in California, you must comply with California law,” Rezzo said.

Tilkey, now 55, lives in Riverside County. He was responsible for overseeing about 30 independent agents in San Diego, Riverside and Orange counties when he was fired in 2015.

His termination came nine months after he was arrested in Arizona following an argument with his then-girlfriend. According to court records, the woman had called police because she had locked Tilkey out her home after an argument and he was banging forcefully on the door.

Police arrived and arrested him for possession of marijuana paraphernalia and two domestic violence counts, according to court filings in the civil case.

Two charges were dismissed in January 2015. The third charge, alleging domestic violence disorderly conduct, was dismissed about six months later, after Tilkey attended an anger-management course as part of his plea deal, according to a pre-trial ruling issued by Judge Katherine Bacal in February.

Allstate learned of the arrest after Tilkey’s ex-girlfriend sent him an email at work discussing the criminal case. The email was flagged as part of a compliance review for employees who are subject to financial industry regulations.

Allstate began an internal investigation, and in December 2015, Tilkey admitted to the arrest and to his agreement to attend the counseling classes. As of February 2016, the company investigator found no violation of company policy and had no plans for further action, according the statement of facts in Bacal’s February ruling.

Then in March 2016, Tilkey’s ex-girlfriend sent an email to the company leadership, accusing him of threatening her during the Arizona incident and asking for an investigation.

Allstate fired Tilkey less than three months later, alleging he had violated company policy by engaging in threatening behavior that led to his attending counseling classes.

In court documents, Allstate’s attorneys describe the company as having “an ethos of caring for and about people — both its employees and customers.”

The company has a “strict policy” that allows for the immediate firing of employees “who engage in threats or acts of physical harm or violence.” Tilkey, the company said, was an at-will employee who knew that the company took threatening or potentially violent behavior seriously.

Tilkey said his subsequent attempts to get other jobs were stymied when potential employers learned why he had been fired.

Figueroa writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com