Eastin Acted With Malice

Eastin fails to get big jury award tossed
BY RAMON CORONADO
BEE STAFF WRITER
  The Sacramento Bee  Friday, 12/6/2002

  A bid to toss out a $4.5 million jury award against the 
state Department of Education and outgoing Superintendent
Delaine Eastin in a whistle-blower case was rejected
Thursday in Sacramento Superior Court...

  On Wednesday, a jury found Eastin and her department
liable for economic and non-economic damages for
retaliating against former department employee James
Lindberg.

  Lindberg testified he was demoted for whistle-blowing
about the misuse of millions in federal funds.  THE
VERDICT ALSO FOUND EASTIN ACTED "WITH MALICE," making
her personally liable for punitive damages...

THE BEE'S RAMON CORONADO CAN BE REACHED AT
(916) 321-1191 OR RCORONADO@SACBEE.COM.




Jury hits Eastin with a penalty
SHE OWES $150,000 - PLUS $1.3 MILLION AWARDED EARLIER -
          TO A DEMOTED STATE WHISTLE-BLOWER
            BY EDGAR SANCHEZ  BEE STAFF WRITER
          The Sacramento Bee  Saturday, 12/7/2002

  California's outgoing superintendent of public instruction
should pay $150,000 in punitive damages to a whistle-blower
who was demoted for reporting fraud, a Sacramento Superior
Court jury decided Friday.

  The decision against Delaine Eastin was reached by the
same jury that on Wednesday slapped her and the Department
of Education with a $4.5 million judgment in favor of
James Lindberg...

  The message, he added, is that government bosses will be
punished "when they retaliate against individuals who are
simply trying to do their job...

  Lindberg testified that he and other workers were forced
to quit or were fired after they reported the
misappropriation of federal funds doled out by the
department between 1995 and 2000 to community-based
organizations.  The agencies ran adult-education
English and citizenship classes.

  "When I reported the fraud, (Eastin) chose to cover it up
rather than deal with the issue," Lindberg said.

  In the mid-1990's, he said, he was demoted from the
consulting job he had held for more than 20 years.

  "After that, I was given a non-job," said Lindberg, who
testified that he had suffered two heart attacks as a
result of his treatment at work.

  In its first verdict, the jury found Eastin was
personally liable for what had happened to Lindberg.

  The panel also said the department, Eastin and
Linkberg's superior, Joan Polster, had no "legitimate,
independent reasons" for taking action against him.

  The jury found the department liable for more than
$1.7 million in non-economic damages and more than
$1 million in economic damages. Eastin was found
personally liable for $1,375,000 and Polster for
$412,000 in non-economic damages...

THE BEE'S EDGAR SANCHEZ ACN BE REACHED AT
(916) 321-1132 OR ESANCHEZ@SACBEE.COM.

Top

Back To Current News in Education