The attorney for two women who filed a harassment lawsuit
against District Attorney John Sarsfield said county supervisors
today will consider a settlement proposal behind closed doors that
could involve moving the women outside the office and an
undisclosed amount of money.
Hollister – The attorney for two women who filed a harassment lawsuit against District Attorney John Sarsfield said county supervisors today will consider a settlement proposal behind closed doors that could involve moving the women outside the office and an undisclosed amount of money.
Attorney Bill Marder wouldn’t comment on the amount Victim Witness employees Katie Fancher and Julie Roybal are seeking, but said if the county accepts a monetary offer it would be responsible for footing the bill.
The offer includes a condition to move the women out of the district attorney’s office and into the county’s administrative office, where they would report to the county administrative officer instead of Sarsfield, Marder said. Gil Solorio is the interim CAO.
“It takes them out of a situation where they feel they’re being harassed,” Marder said.
The women filed a personnel complaint against Sarsfield in June and followed up with a lawsuit in August. The women allege Sarsfield has had an affair with his office manager since his tenure began in January 2003 and that it led to a hostile and unfair workplace.
In their complaint, the women claimed Sarsfield behaved in an “openly rude and contemptuous manner” toward women in the office, took away Fancher and Roybal’s office although offices are necessary for the “sensitive nature” of their work with victims, allowed his office manager to work less than 40-hour weeks and attempted to promote her to a role above the Victim Witness coordinator.
Sarsfield referred all comments to his attorney, Jon Giffen, who believes a settlement can be reached providing the “numbers are fair,” he said.
“To cost the county additional fees (in litigation) is not in anyone’s best interest,” Giffen said. “Given the closeness of the settlement terms, it would be a gross expenditure of money.”
Giffen said entering into a settlement with the women is in no way an admission to the complaints alleged in the suit.
“When you enter into a settlement no one admits anything – both parties agree to compromise and that’s the end of it,” he said. “Certainly there’s no admission of any of the allegations in the complaint.”
County Attorney Rick Bolanos also confirmed settlement discussions are underway but wouldn’t go into details.
An investigative report commissioned by the county that identified a “number of personnel issues that need to be addressed and corrected” within the district attorney’s office will also be discussed today, Bolanos said. The report’s findings led to settlement talks with the women.
Whether the board will take any action on the issues is “certainly possible, but I wouldn’t want to guess,” he said.
Bolanos said it’s premature to discuss monetary amounts.
“I understand they (the women) are looking for it, but it’s not to say the county will agree,” he said. “That decision has not been made.”
If settlement talks fail, Marder is confident his clients would prevail in court.
“I never take a case unless I think I can win it,” he said. “I would be happy to represent Katie and Julie. I think they’re great people and make great plaintiffs.”
But having settlement talks this soon in the legal process is a good sign, because suits often drag on for much longer, Marder said.
“It seems like a long time for regular people, but by lawsuit standards it’s actually pretty fast,” he said. “I think the county has woken up because… costs are so high defending these cases. It’s not good money management to litigate every case if you can make it go away quicker and cheaper.”
The county has spent more than $2.5 million in outside lawyer fees since 2000 to litigate cases including corruption lawsuits against supervisors and the harassment suit against Sarsfield. The board shelled out almost $300,000 for outside attorney fees between April and September of this year.
Supervisor Ruth Kesler, who has expressed support for Sarsfield in recent months, wouldn’t comment on details of the settlement talks but said she hopes a settlement can be reached as soon as possible.
“I was ready for it to be over before it started,” Kesler said. “It can be reached if they do what we ask them to do.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
