Judge denies FUESD attorney's fees

Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Stern issued a decision on Sept. 11 to deny Fallbrook Union Elementary School District (FUESD) the right to recover attorney's fees regarding certain causes of action brought about by plaintiff Elaine Allyn's in what is now a three-year-old wrongful termination case. A jury awarded Allyn $1,046,000 in lost income and $148,000 in general damages on Feb. 26 in the case.

In her decision regarding the other causes of action, Judge Stern stated, "Attorney's fees may be awarded under this statute only if the plaintiff's case is 'frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless.'" Stern stated that FUESD did not prove that was the case.

"Ms. Allyn clearly prevailed at trial in her retaliation claims," said Michael Curran, of Curran & Curran Law, Allyn's legal counsel. "Following that clear verdict and message to [FUESD], district administrators and their counsel nonsensically purported to also claim victory asserting they 'prevailed on Ms. Allyn's dismissed/lesser included claims;' they also boasted they would 'seek their attorneys fees.' The court's ruling [Sept. 11], denying their ill-fated and frivolous motion, makes clear their false and legally unsupported bravado was nothing more than a weak attempt at saving face having been caught trying to cover their own misconduct against Ms. Allyn."

According to FUESD legal counsel, Gil Abed of Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz, "The [District] sought to recover attorney's fees incurred in defeating the unsuccessful causes of action alleged by Ms. Allyn. Eleven out of the 12 causes of action brought by Ms. Allyn were dismissed. The award of attorney's fees to employers in these types of employment cases is discretionary. The court denied the district's request. Similarly, approx. two months ago, the court also denied Ms. Allyn's request for attorney's fees on her one cause of action."

In her lawsuit, Allyn, FUESD's former director of information technology, claimed she was terminated by the district after 18 years of employment out of retaliation for refusing to delete email archives in an effort by her supervisors (superintendent Candace Singh and associate superintendent, business services Ray Proctor) to cover up a violation of public policy by misusing public funds.

FUESD still has an active appeal of the jury verdict filed with the court.