For greater than three years, legal professionals within the workplace of Los Angeles Metropolis Atty. Mike Feuer have been extraordinarily sad with certainly one of their colleagues.
Anthony Koutris, a longtime deputy metropolis lawyer, had filed a number of staff’ compensation claims saying he’d suffered on-the-job accidents. Supervisors in Feuer’s workplace have been aggravated by his requests, and badmouthed him repeatedly in emails despatched between 2015 and 2018.
One high-level supervisor mentioned Koutris had a status as a “lazy ne’er do nicely.” One other steered he was making an attempt to blackmail the workplace into letting him work nearer to his house. A 3rd mentioned Koutris had the “fats, dumb and glad look of somebody main a stress-free existence.”
Now, Koutris is on monitor to obtain a payout of as much as $1 million from town of Los Angeles, bringing an finish to a lawsuit alleging he confronted age discrimination, incapacity discrimination and retaliation from his superiors.
The Metropolis Council signed off on the fee final month after receiving a confidential authorized memo warning that the “vitriol and spite” expressed in these emails — and plenty of others written by legal professionals in Feuer’s workplace — would have severely undermined town’s credibility at trial.
“We employed a jury guide, who ... felt that this case wanted to be settled and was one of many worst examples of unprofessional correspondence she had seen,” mentioned the memo, a duplicate of which was reviewed by The Occasions.
Koutris declined to remark, and his lawyer didn't reply to a number of calls from The Occasions.
Requested in regards to the case, Feuer spokesman Rob Wilcox mentioned his boss expects his staff to deal with individuals professionally and with “respect and dignity.” Feuer holds his managers accountable for ensuring these practices are adopted, Wilcox mentioned in a press release.
“The town lawyer ... has fought his total profession for various and welcoming workplaces the place staff’ dignity and rights are valued, revered and guarded,” Wilcox mentioned. “As that is each a topic of litigation and a personnel matter, we can't remark additional.”
Feuer is working for mayor within the June 7 major election, campaigning on a report of “sturdy, confirmed, efficient and skilled management.” Wilcox is showing on the identical poll as a candidate for metropolis controller.
Wilcox mentioned that, as a candidate, he has no touch upon the Koutris case.
Koutris labored within the metropolis lawyer’s workplace from 1998 to 2018, spending most of his tenure dealing with legal instances. He filed his lawsuit in opposition to town in 2019, alleging he was mistreated after reporting that he had suffered on-the-job medical points, together with accidents to his decrease again.
In his lawsuit, Koutris accused metropolis officers of preventing his staff’ compensation claims, denying him injured-on-duty pay and ignoring his many requests to relocate to an workplace within the San Fernando Valley — a transfer aimed toward easing his again issues by shortening his commute.
As a substitute of granting his request, staffers in Feuer’s workplace really useful that, throughout his drive into downtown, Koutris pull over after half-hour, relaxation after which resume his commute, in keeping with his lawsuit.
The town’s legal professionals “knew Mr. Koutris was affected by disabilities,” his lawsuit states. “But as a substitute of providing to help him, they beat him down mentally till he was crippled by orthopedic accidents, [high] blood strain, extreme nervousness, melancholy, and humiliation.”
Legal professionals for town have disputed the concept that the remedy of Koutris was discriminatory, saying of their memo to the council that they accommodated his work restrictions, offering about 40 months of medical depart. Additionally they accused Koutris of sending his personal problematic emails.
Some have been “nasty and excessive,” whereas a number of from 2011 and 2012 have been “racist and pornographic,” in keeping with the memo, which was ready by Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, the agency employed to defend town.
Nonetheless, town’s authorized workforce warned that mentioning these emails at trial — and the notion that Koutris may been fired for sending them — would open the door for Koutris’ legal professionals to debate “a plethora of different staff on the workplace who had carried out a lot worse,” reminiscent of committing assault.
The town’s authorized workforce additionally supplied plenty of different causes that a jury would aspect with Koutris, a longtime trial lawyer who “presents nicely at deposition.”
Koutris had prevailed in his staff’ compensation claims, undermining the argument that he had faked his accidents. He had no documented report of poor efficiency, as a result of Feuer’s workplace didn't conduct efficiency evaluations on its attorneys. And town by no means investigated his complaints, together with “these made on to Mike Feuer,” the memo mentioned.
Koutris “is prone to current as a sympathetic witness,” the authorized workforce wrote. The town confronted a complete authorized publicity of $3 million within the case, with a jury awarding “vital financial and emotional stress damages” to Koutris at trial, the memo mentioned.
Most of the disparaging feedback about Koutris have been made by supervisors within the metropolis’s legal department, in keeping with the memo.
Whereas discussing Koutris’ issue in getting round, one high-level lawyer steered that somebody give him the “scooter” of certainly one of his co-workers, one who had cerebral palsy, in keeping with the memo. One other referred to Koutris as a “whole fraud.”
Mike Sheehan, a former colleague of Koutris, mentioned Koutris was neither lazy nor a fraud. Not one of the individuals who disparaged him at his workplace ever watched him throughout a trial, mentioned Sheehan, who labored as a deputy metropolis lawyer from 1998 to 2020.
“He is aware of the best way to deal with a courtroom,” Sheehan mentioned. “He isn’t intimidated by anybody or something.”
In keeping with the memo ready for the council, the important thing gamers who wrote the emails have retired, and a few have been uncooperative when contacted by town’s authorized workforce.
“None have been notably motivated to supply context for his or her feedback,” the memo mentioned.
Post a Comment