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from Lawyers Weekly, May 16, 2006
Verdicts & Settlements
College president fires CFO before contract has expired
CFO said he refused to participate in ‘unlawful acts’
$215,000 settlement
From July 1995 through September 11, 2001, the plaintiff was employed by the
defendants, a public educational institution. He was comptroller for a number of
years, but at the time of his termination, the plaintiff was earning a salary of
$88,199 per year as CFO. For many years, the plaintiff had also acted as an
adjunct faculty member, earning approximately $8,000 per year.
The plaintiffs alleged that on several occasions during his tenure as CFO, the
college’s president who was also the plaintiff’s direct supervisor, requested
that the plaintiff engage in or authorize actions in direct violation of the
State Procurement Policies and Procedures and Higher Education Trust Fund
Guidelines. According to the plaintiff, the president retaliated against him for
refusing to participate in the unlawful acts and terminated the plaintiff prior
to the expiration of his contract.
In support of her reasons for terminating the plaintiff the president alleged
that the plaintiff failed to conduct his responsibilities as CFO. But the
plaintiff alleged that the specific reasons provided by the president in support
of her decision were pure fabrications and stemmed from her incomprehension as
to what the CFO’s actual responsibilities were. According to the plaintiff, the
president intentionally attributed to him many of the problems the defendant
college was facing for the purpose of establishing cause for his termination.
The defendant college faced the prospect of many fines during the tenure of the
president, and some of the incidents she referenced in her termination letter
preceded the plaintiff as CFO. After the plaintiff’s termination, he applied for
several similar positions, but to no avail. On many occasions his termination
from the defendant college was raised by interviewers as a concern, and on other
occasions he was told that the termination was a substantial factor as to why he
did not receive an offer. On Oct. 1, 2004, the plaintiff found employment at a
lesser sum. After mediation, the defendant college agreed to pay the plaintiffs
$215,000 in compensatory damages and reinstate him to adjunct faculty member
status.
Type of action: Employment
Injuries Alleged: Lost earnings, emotional distress, 93A
Name of Case: Sweeney v. Roxbury Community College
Court/case #: Suffolk Superior Court, No. 03-04249B
Tried before a judge or jury: N/A (mediated)
Name of Mediator: John G. Wofford, Mediation Works, Inc.
Amount of Settlement: $215,000 and reinstatement
Date: Dec. 30, 2005
Highest Offer: $215,000
Attorneys: Timothy M. Corcoran and Seth Robbins, Milton (for the
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