Vindicating a Whistleblower

Cleve Pell had worked for the Montebello School District for 50 years.  He started as a schoolteacher and rose to the level of Chief Financial Officer for district—one of the largest in the Los Angeles area.

Pell became concerned about corruption surrounding municipal bonds and school construction contracts, and raised his concerns to the board.  Rather than taking Pell’s concerns seriously, the board put him on leave and fired him.  After five decades of services, Pell was unceremoniously fired for doing the right thing.

We sued the school district on Pell’s behalf and took the case to trial.  During discovery, evidence emerged that the school officials who conspired against him and school board members who fired him had close, secret ties to powerful contractors who were seeking construction contracts with the school district. 

The jury found for Pell and award him and his co-plaintiff—the superintendent—over $3 million in compensatory damages.  [https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-edu-montebello-whistleblower-verdict-20180807-story.html]. A judge later awarded millions in attorneys’ fees.