Awards to Former Firefighters Reduced

Ruling in a long-running legal feud between Westminster and a group of former firefighters, a federal judge has significantly reduced the amount of money that some city officials must pay and dismissed other claims related to the case.

In September, after awarding $1.9 million to five former firefighters, a federal jury ordered several city officials, including the mayor, to pay $570,000 out of their own pockets as punishment for their role in firing or disciplining the firefighters.

This week, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Paez in Los Angeles reduced the amount of damages by about half and dismissed two claims worth about $1.1 million, city officials and attorneys involved in the case said.

“It’s like a new sunrise for the city,” City Manager Bill Smith said Friday. “It takes a big shadow off of us. It’s something we can work with, and we think we’ll prevail on appeal.”

The case grew out of a battle between members of the firefighters union and city officials over suspected payroll fraud in the now-disbanded Westminster Fire Department.

When a group of firefighters who were fired over the issue went to court, a jury agreed that the city had violated their 1st Amendment rights, among other charges, because they had worked on a campaign to oust City Council members.

Although the city had agreed to pay the damages on behalf of the officials involved in the case, Paez this week reduced those amounts, citing the individual defendants’ ability to pay.

Damages against Mayor Charles V. Smith were reduced from $200,000 to $100,000; those against Finance Director Brian Mayhew were reduced from $150,000 to $40,000; and damages against former Fire Chief John T. DeMonaco Jr. were reduced from $120,000 to $60,000.

Councilman Tony Lam’s assessment of $20,000 remains intact under the judge’s ruling, as does the $10,000 against former Assistant City Manager Don Anderson and $40,000 against former Councilman Craig Schweisinger. A separate jury award of $30,000 against Schweisinger, in a slander case where he compared a firefighter to the late Teamsters Union boss Jimmy Hoffa, also was upheld.

Alan C. Davis, an attorney for the group of firefighters, said Paez “is still holding the individual defendants to very substantial punitive judgments. These awards are more in line with what we asked for at the trial.”

The firefighters had asked for $305,000 to be divided equally among the city officials who they believed punished them, but the jury countered with $570,000 instead.

Paez also dismissed the cases of firefighters Hal Raphael, who was awarded $1.1 million in compensatory damages, and Dana Bowler, who was awarded $43,500. But city officials and the plaintiffs’ attorney disagreed on the impact of that ruling.

“It’s a conditional dismissal, which allows for a new trial,” Davis said. He called the dismissal “a routine action” when issues in the suit overlap.

Davis said the ruling will have the effect of an automatic appeal that will be heard by a higher court.

“Everything goes upstairs at this point,” he said.

Smith interpreted the ruling differently.

“They’ve been dismissed,” Smith said of Raphael and Bowler’s claims. “It’s a major relief for the city.”

Smith said the city plans to appeal all the remaining judgments.