Court Official Accused of Sexism : Trial: Top administrator denies insulting former employee, who says the hostile environment forced her to retire early.

Did he? Or didn’t he? That’s what an Orange County jury is trying to decide in a sexual harassment case against Robert Kuhel, the Municipal Court administrator who is on trial in the same courthouse where he supervises more than 200 workers.

Former employee Bonnie Severson alleges that Kuhel repeatedly called her a “bitch” at work--an insult she says was sometimes preceded by such descriptions as “coldhearted” and “pigheaded.” She says her boss created such a hostile work environment that she was forced to take early retirement in 1988.

“It just reeks of the worst kind of sexism, as well as corruption of power,” her lawyer, William M. Crosby, told jurors before they began deliberations Wednesday.

But Kuhel says Severson is all wrong and has denied the allegations. His lawyer characterized the case as unsubstantiated claims by a woman troubled by personal problems at home.

“This lawsuit is about nothing more than money,” attorney Charles Matheis Jr., who is representing Kuhel and Orange County, told the jury during the trial’s closing arguments.

Even if the jury believes Severson’s allegations that Kuhel used those insults, the attorney said, there is no evidence that such comments amount to gender discrimination.

Severson is seeking more than $500,000 in compensation for lost wages and benefits as well as emotional distress from the county, and unspecified punitive damages from Kuhel.

The civil trial included testimony from two judges, and is the latest controversy to envelope the Municipal Court in Santa Ana, one of the busiest courts in the county.

Municipal Judge Claude E. Whitney faces misconduct charges filed in May by the state Commission on Judicial Performance, which investigated allegations that Whitney “coerced” guilty pleas from misdemeanor defendants and violated other constitutional rights.

The Orange County public defender’s office, which lodged the complaint, alleged that Whitney and then-Presiding Judge James M. Brooks were determined to keep cases flowing smoothly at all costs.

Whitney and Brooks have denied any wrongdoing. Defendants who entered guilty pleas before Whitney were allowed withdraw those pleas, court officials said.

Municipal Judge Gregory H. Lewis in Santa Ana also was the target of an investigation by the commission last year for allegedly using sexist and verbally abusive language in his dealings with attorneys, but Lewis said Wednesday that matter has been closed and no further action is pending.

Lewis, now the presiding judge, said Wednesday that Kuhel’s civil trial has had no effect on the day-to-day operations at the courthouse. The Municipal and Superior Court branches are housed in the same Santa Ana courthouse.

“Without him, this place is like a house of cards that would fall apart,” Lewis said. “But he’s been doing his job without missing a beat and we’re just waiting for this case to be properly disposed of so we can all get back to work.”

Lewis said he could not discuss the pending lawsuit, but said he has known Kuhel for six years, and holds him in high regard.

“I have never known him to be overly aggressive with men or women,” the judge said. “I’m having difficulty understanding why this all came about.”

As the court’s top administrator, Kuhel oversees more than 220 employees, about 80% of whom are women, according to court testimony. He earns about $80,000 a year.

Severson started working as a court clerk in 1968, but said her problems with Kuhel did not start until 1983, when she was was promoted to court services division head.

She said that she and Kuhel clashed, and that he insulted her repeatedly for several years until she retired from her $36,000-a-year job on her 50th birthday.

Crosby said the harassment at work caused his client to lose sleep, become reclusive and finally seek medical treatment and counseling.

“Why would a 50-year-old woman throw herself out on the job market unless she had to,” said Susan P. Addy, an attorney also representing Severson.

Severson filed the lawsuit in 1990 and has started working successfully as a real estate agent, but only after a substantial struggle to find a new career, her lawyers said.

In his closing arguments before the jury, Matheis said Severson’s apparent health problems were caused by personal problems at home, not a hostile work environment, and that she told others she was retiring to “try something else.” In her retirement letter she expressed “appreciation to all concerned for the opportunities and support.”

He also added that Kuhel was responsible for her being selected for the 1983 promotion.

Kuhel conceded that he had given Severson a novelty note pad at one point inscribed with the phrase “From the desk of the bitch,” but that another female employee picked out the gift, Matheis told the jury.

The lawyer said that Severson lacked any witnesses from work who could back up her claims, even though she alluded to such people in her testimony. Ultimately, Matheis said, the jury’s decision will come down to who it believes is most credible.

Deliberations by the six-man, six-woman jury continue today before Superior Court Judge H. Warren Siegel.