Appellate Court Takes Up ’96 Case in Firing of Teacher

An appellate court Thursday took up the wrongful-termination suit of a former Ventura County teacher who sued administrators in 1996 for firing him after he accused them of misallocating school funds.

Two years ago, a jury awarded Robert LeVine $843,973 after concluding that administrators had retaliated against him.

The Ventura County superintendent of schools office has appealed the decision, contending that a lower court judge made errors that warrant reversing the verdict or granting a new trial.

“We really hope it is thrown out,” Supt. Charles Weis said this week. “We just feel the law was not applied well.”

LeVine, who taught at a county-run school for incarcerated youths, sued Weis, his office and other administrators after being dismissed for missing work for several days.

LeVine alleged that he was fired in retaliation after accusing administrators of spending money intended for juvenile wards at McBride School on other programs.

LeVine also complained about staffing levels, describing the situation as “horrendous” in a 1994 memo and threatening to go to the state Department of Education if additional teacher aides were not brought in, court records show.

Concerned by his behavior, administrators sent LeVine home on sick leave, and told him to obtain a doctor’s note stating he was emotionally fit to return to work. He was later let go for abandoning his position.

Lawsuit Has Been In and Out of Courts

LeVine’s lawsuit has bounced through the state courts for years.

It was initially dismissed in Ventura County Superior Court, but the appeals court overturned the decision, saying the events leading up to LeVine’s firing could be seen as retaliatory. The schools office asked the California Supreme Court to review the ruling, but the request was denied.

The case went to trial in June 1999 and a jury found the schools office had retaliated against LeVine. The jury awarded $350,000 in emotional distress damages, $86,158 in back pay and $50,000 in other damages.

Retired Superior Court Judge Marvin Lewis, who presided over the trial, doubled the back pay and added $29,682 in interest. He also awarded LeVine $241,975 in attorneys’ fees, for $843,973 in total damages.

As a result of the appeal, which froze the damages, LeVine hasn’t seen a dime. But that could change.

On Thursday, lawyers argued the case before a three-judge panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Ventura.

Los Angeles appellate lawyer Daniel P. Barer, whose firm represents the county schools office, told the justices there are solid legal grounds for reversal.

LeVine’s contention that the schools office mishandled average daily attendance funds and made “false claims” to the state for that money was false, Barer said, noting that the state Department of Education found no wrongdoing.

In his brief to the court, Barer further argued that the trial judge erred by refusing to give the jury an instruction defining a “false claim.”

But LeVine’s Santa Barbara appellate lawyer, Diane Matsinger, told the justices that the false claims argument misses the mark in this case. She argued that the core issue is whether LeVine was fired in retaliation for questioning the way the schools office handled state funds.

“What we have is a situation where what Rob LeVine . . . threatened to report could have led to an investigation,” Matsinger argued in court, adding that “as soon as he started talking about the money, about the ADA funds, a lot of bad things started to happen to him.”

After the hearing, LeVine was escorted from the Santa Clara Street courthouse by Matsinger. Lawyers for both sides declined comment. A decision is expected within 90 days.