The Texas Supreme Court reversed the jury decision in Nicholas v. SAWS. See decision here. The result is not surprising. The Texas Supreme Court frequently reverses jury verdicts in favor of victims of discrimination. The court found that Debra Nicholas did not have a reasonable belief that she was opposing discrimination when she
Nicholas v. San Antonio Water System
SAWS Seeks to Move the Goal Post
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Oral arguments in the case of Nicholas v. SAWS were heard recently. The Defendant appealed the matter to the Texas Supreme Court after losing before the Fourth Court of Appeals. See my prior post about that appeal here and here. In the oral arguments, the defense attorney, Rachel Ekery, said the harassment by the…
Oral Arguments Set for Nicholas v. SAWS
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Oral arguments are set for Nicholas v. San Antonio Water System. I previously wrote about that case here and here. CPS spent half a million dollars by November, 2013 defending the case. They could have settled the case for much less. Oral arguments are set for January, 2015 before the Texas Supreme Court. See San…
SAWS Appeals Court Ruling, Again
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
SAWS has decided to appeal the ruling by the Fourth Court of Appeals regarding its million dollar jury verdict. I wrote about that appellate ruling here. SAWS has hired former Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson to represent it before the Texas Supreme Court. Even before he became Chief Justice, Mr. Jefferson was one of the…
SAWS Defense Costs $492,000
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
SAWS (San Antonio Water System) recently lost the apeal of their million dollar loss in Bexar County distirict court. I previously wrote about that appellate decision here.
That defense has cost SAWS $492,000 over four years. This amount includes the trial, the appeal and the EEOC charge. See San Antonio Express News report…
Fourth Court Affirms Jury Verdict
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
In 2012, a Bexar County jury awarded a former SAWS employee $1.6 million in damages in a retaliation lawsuit. Debra Nicholas had opposed possible discrimination by her employer, San Antonio Water System in 2006. Her job was eliminated in 2009. SAWS claimed her job was eliminated as part of a re-organization. But, her job was…
Bexar County Jury Awards $1.6 Million
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Discrimination
A Bexar County jury awarded a former employee of San Antonio Water Systems $1.6 million in state district court. The former SAWS employee alleged she had been fired after she reprimanded the Vice-President for Communications because he asked a female employee to lunch. See San Antonio Express News report. Debra Nicholas had been special…