NOTABLE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND EDUCATION LAW TRIALS, VERDICTS, AND SETTLEMENTS:

Brooky Parks v. High Plains Library District – Resolved Fall 2023

Brooky Parks lost her job at Erie Community Library in 2021 after promoting anti-racism and LGBTQ history workshops for teens. The programming drew backlash from the district’s board of trustees, which oversees more than a dozen public libraries across Northern Colorado. The Settlement drops discrimination charges against the district and includes requirements that district leaders update their programming policies to be more inclusive.

Estate of Christian Glass v. Clear Creek County, et al. – Resolved Spring 2023

Christian Glass was a young man of many talents with kindness that knew no bounds. Christian was loved beyond measure by his parents, sisters, extended family, friends, and community. Christian had so much of his life left to live when it was tragically and unjustly taken away from him in June of 2022 by a law enforcement officer in Clear Creek County, Colorado. When Christian was killed, he was twenty-two years old. Sally and Simon Glass reached agreements to settle all claims relating to the death of their beloved son, Christian Glass, for the amount of $19 million with Clear Creek County, the State of Colorado, the Town of Georgetown, and the City of Idaho Springs. In addition to the $19 million in financial compensation, the settlements also include a number of impactful measures aimed at honoring Christian’s memory and effecting lasting change.

Corey Wise v. Douglas County School District RE-1, et al. – Resolved Spring 2023

Throughout his twenty-six-year career in Douglas County School District, Mr. Wise always cared first and foremost about the students of Douglas County—each and every one of them, not just some of them. In an effort to continue his advocacy for all students, and to hold the rogue school board majority accountable, Mr. Wise filed a complaint against the Douglas County School District and the board’s reactionary majority: Becky Myers, Mike Peterson, Christy Williams, and Kaylee Winegar.

Estate of Elijah McClain v. City of Aurora, et al. – Resolved Fall 2021

Elijah McClain was a beautiful person. He taught himself how to play the violin, guitar, and other instruments. On top of this, he had a fun-loving, affectionate nature.  He deeply cared for the people around him and was pursuing a massage therapy certification. Elijah was deeply loved by those that surrounded him, and he reciprocated that entirely. Elijah’s life was abruptly and unjustly cut short on August 24, 2019, while he was walking home from a convenience store, committing no crime, and causing no harm, as he always did. Elijah’s death has left an enormous void in the lives of the many people who loved him. Ms. McClain states that “Elijah believed in humanity and that humanity mattered. Inhumane humans are a problem, and we must stop unjust laws.”

McFadden, et al. v. Meeker Housing Authority, et al. – Resolved Summer 2019

Megan McFadden (“McFadden”) previously resided in the federally subsidized Karen Court apartment complex in Meeker, Colorado. McFadden claimed that Defendants discriminated against them in violation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Rehabilitation Act” or “§ 504”), and the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”), based on Defendants’ policy concerning therapy pets. McFadden also brought a claim under Colorado state law for wrongful withholding of her security deposit.

Estate of Veach v. City of Rawlins, WY, et al. – Resolved Spring 2019

On December 30, 2015, John Randall Veach was shot and killed by police officers in Rawlins, Wyoming when he attempted to evade arrest by driving away in his pickup truck.  To justify the shooting, the officers alleged that Mr. Veach was driving his pickup truck in their direction, and that they needed to use deadly force for their own safety.  Our investigation — including extensive review of video, photographs, tire marks, and eyewitness testimony by another law enforcement officer — showed a different story.  Just months before trial, the City of Rawlins settled the case for $925,000, one of the largest outcomes in an excessive force case in Wyoming.

Khan, et al. v. Katina Gatchis – Resolved Spring 2019

In December 2017, Katina Gatchis declared that she would not lease commercial real estate to a father and son business team because they were Muslim and not American.  According to Defendant Gatchis, the Khans would “bring all the Muslims from the Middle East and then I have a problem around here.  Bomb, boom. Bomb, boom.”  Utterly shocked and dismayed by these statements, our firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Khans as well as Craig Caldwell, the individual who had been trying to convince Ms. Gatchis to allow the Khans to lease from her.  Despite there being audio recordings of Ms. Gatchis’ unlawful statements, Ms. Gatchis zealously defended against the litigation.  The case ultimately settled for $675,000 after Ms. Gatchis filed pleadings in court admitting to having violated the law just days before trial was set to commence.

Prairie Middle School Students v. Cherry Creek School District – Resolved Fall 2018

Estate of Byrd v. City of Pueblo – Resolved Summer 2018

In the early morning of February 5, 2017, a City of Pueblo police officer shot and killed Andrew Byrd as Mr. Byrd was driving his car away from the officer.  According to the officer, he believed he saw Mr. Byrd lean over and pick up a gun after ordering Mr. Byrd to step out of the car.  Our investigation uncovered that there were no weapons – let alone a gun – found in Mr. Byrd’s car.  An intensive review of the body camera footage established that the police officer had engaged in an execution-style murder of Mr. Byrd, pausing to aim his gun at Mr. Byrd’s temple as Mr. Byrd drove past.  The officer voluntarily resigned from the police force, and the case settled for $600,000 for Mr. Byrd’s estate.

Estate of Jacquez v. City of Rocky Ford, et al. – Resolved Summer 2017

In the early morning of October 12, 2014, Mr. Jack Jacquez was skateboarding home from a friend’s house when Officer Ashby first contacted him. Mr. Jacquez told Officer Ashby that he was going home, and then walked away from Officer Ashby. Angered by this perceived show of disrespect, Officer Ashby followed Mr. Jacquez onto his property and attempted to arrest him without probable cause. When Mr. Jacquez’s mother opened the back door and he escaped Officer Ashby’s grasp, Officer Ashby followed Mr. Jacquez into the kitchen and fatally shot him in the back. Ashby told investigators he thought Mr. Jacquez was a burglar, but officials said the cop had no reason to believe the 27-year-old was committing a crime. Ashby was found guilty of murdering Mr. Jacquez in June and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The town of Rocky Ford paid $1.3 million to settle the lawsuit.

Shiva Rai v. St. Vrain Valley School District – Resolved Summer 2017

Shiva Rai is a Nepalese male who suffers from severe autism. He is non-verbal, has extremely limited communication abilities, and is reliant on caretakers for even the most basic of human needs. At the time of our representation of Shiva, he was a 20-year-old at-risk adult who had been physically, emotionally, and mentally abused by his bus aide Monica Burke for approximately six months.  We settled Shiva’s case for $3.85 million. Based upon our investigation, the only person on that bus who could have intervened was bus driver William Hall. But rather than report Ms. Burke’s crimes, Mr. Hall remained silent. Both Ms. Burke and Mr. Hall were criminally charged for their abuse of Shiva. Ms. Burke was ultimately sentenced to 20 months in jail after pleading guilty, and Mr. Hall received a 60-day jail sentence upon being convicted at trial.

Estate of Jessica Hernandez v. City and County of Denver, et al. – Resolved Spring 2017

The Jessica Hernandez case made national headline news as the country was swept up in the heartbreaking and tragic death of a teenage girl.  In our estimation, on January 26, 2015, Denver Police Department (DPD) Officers recklessly ran up to the Honda Civic being driven by then-17-year-old Jessie Hernandez and killed her with shots from the side of the car.  Based on our review of the materials in the case, neither officer was in any serious danger at the time shots were fired.  DPD conducted a two-year-long investigation into the shooting death, and it ultimately found that its officers acted within policy, would not be disciplined, and in fact were considered for commendation.

In our view, the DPD officers who shot and killed Jessie violated her Fourth Amendment right to be from excessive, deadly force.  We bolstered our legal analysis with the opinion of a nationally-regarded use of force expert who found that the DPD Officers had acted outside the bounds of best police practices when they shot at Jessie’s vehicle.  The opinion of an accident reconstruction and ballistics expert also confirmed that the officers were not in danger when they fired the lethal bullets.

We were ultimately able to settle Jessie’s case for $1,000,000.  The national attention the case received and our insistence that DPD reconsider its use of force policy ultimately resulted in changes being made to DPD’s high-risk vehicle stop and shooting into moving vehicles policies.

Araujo, et al. v. City of Fort Collins – Resolved January 2017

In September 2016, our law firm brought suit against the City of Fort Collins alleging systemic race and national origin discrimination that had permeated its police force over the past half-century.  Representing two Latino officers, our investigation uncovered countless scenarios where Latinx officers had been treated differently and given fewer opportunities than their Caucasian counterparts.  In January 2017, we resolved the case for $425,000 and numerous systemic changes, including additional training for staff regarding discrimination, harassment and retaliation in the workplace, the creation and development of an independent Equal Employment Opportunity office run through the City Manager’s Office, and a commitment towards achieving a workforce that reflects the diversity of the community within five years of executing the agreement.

Baltazar, et al. v. Vail Run Resorts – Resolved Winter 2016

In 2013, our firm filed charges of discrimination on behalf of two women who had suffered egregious forms of sexual harassment in the workplace at the hands of their supervisor, Omar Quezada, at Vail Run Resorts. The women alleged the luxury Vail resort allowed sexual harassment. The women said a manager sexually harassed them for more than a year, in one case attacking a housekeeper cleaning a room in the 54-unit timeshare. They said the resort allowed the abuse, threatening to fire or deport workers who complained. In addition to the money, the company agreed to hire a bilingual monitor for five years to ensure the settlement is enforced. The women agreed to a $1 million settlement of their civil rights lawsuit after allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination.

Contreras, et al. v. Thomas Wright & Rent-Rite Super Kegs West d/b/a Wright Group Events – Resolved December 2016

Rathod | Mohamedbhai brought claims of wage theft and race and national origin discrimination on behalf of five Latinx workers who were underpaid and mistreated for years under the leadership of Thomas Wright at Wright Group Events.  The case resolved for $200,000 in December 2016 in a Court-approved settlement, which has since been increased to a $300,000 judgment by Court order.

Naeschylus Carter-Vinzant v. City of Aurora, et al. – Resolved Fall 2016

Naeschylus Carter-Vinzant was killed in March 2015 by Officer Paul Jerothe. The family of Naeschylus Carter-Vinzant will receive $2.6 million for his death in an officer-involved shooting where no criminal charges were filed. The settlement also includes massive changes for the Aurora Police Department in an effort to improve community relations and better monitor police actions.

Amanda Wilson v. Jonathan Pauling et al. – Resolved Fall 2015

Jonathan Pauling, owner of Two Mile Ranch, chased Ms. Wilson through her house, eventually forcing her onto a kitchen table where he began sexually assaulting her. She escaped and fled to her backyard, where she screamed for help before Pauling, 52, resumed his attack. Neighbors heard the commotion, broke through her backyard gate and pulled Pauling away. Neighbors restrained him until Denver police arrived. During the trial, Wilson’s team called dozens of witnesses, including men who rescued her from the attack, Denver police officers who responded to the scene and another former female employee of Pauling’s who described similar aggressive and harassing behavior. As part of its $3.9 million judgment, the jury awarded $2.25 million in punitive damages.

Guzzo, et al. v. State of Wyoming – Resolved in Fall 2014

Our law firm was proud to represent same-sex couples within the State of Wyoming as they challenged the state’s ban on gay marriage.  In October 2014, Judge Scott W. Skavdahl of the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming ruled in favor of the freedom to marry regardless of sex.  The court’s order required the state to allow couples to begin marrying immediately.  The following year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the fundamental right to marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Jamal Hunter v. Denver Sheriff’s Department – Resolved Summer 2014

Mr. Hunter suffered serious injuries while detained at the Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center (“Detention Center”), due to the Denver Sheriff’s Department’s deliberate indifference to Mr. Hunter’s well-established constitutional rights. Mr. Hunter received second and third degree burns to most of his genitalia and a broken nose. Subsequently, Mr. Hunter was attacked by two Denver Sheriff’s Deputies, causing him additional injuries. This incident is one among many resulting from Denver law enforcements’ custom, policy, and practice of engaging in excessive force and failing to monitor, safeguard and protect the health and safety of detainees at the Detention Center.

Ortega, et al. v. The City and County of Denver et al. (Denver Diner) – Resolved Fall 2013

This lawsuit became well known throughout Colorado and the nation as the Denver Diner case.  On July 12, 2009, a Denver Police Department officer worked off-duty security at the Denver Diner restaurant when he encountered our client being attacked by another patron.  The lawsuit alleged that he dragged our client outside while her friend followed and protested the officer’s conduct.  At the same time, another two of our clients arrived in a bicycle cab in front of the Diner.  As the two women approached the entrance, a second Denver Police Officer, who had arrived as backup, barreled through them.  When our client protested being shoved, the lawsuit alleged that both officers responded with an onslaught of excessive and unnecessary force, including haphazard pepper spraying, shoving our clients to the ground, picking one up by her neck and punching another in the face while handcuffed.  The incident was captured by a High Activity Location Observation (HALO) camera.  Initially hidden by Denver, the surveillance tape was released nearly two years after the event.

The case garnered widespread public and media attention, not only for the egregious incident, but also for exposing the Denver Police Department’s failure to address its systematic problem of unbridled police brutality.  The lawsuit alleged that the officers falsified accounts of the assault of the four women in their reports, omitting numerous details of the force they exercised.  The two officers were eventually fired only after their conduct was brought to light through the lawsuit.

This lawsuit required the interviews dozens of witnesses and review of over one hundred thousand pages of discovery.  We uncovered substantial evidence proving that Denver trains its officers to engage in excessive force, that Denver police officers systemically fail to report excessive force by other officers, and that Denver’s Internal Affairs Bureau routinely whitewashes police misconduct and fails to investigate community complaints.

The Honorable William J. Martinez of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado allowed municipal liability claims to proceed to trial “based on Denver’s custom of failing to adequately and timely investigate citizen complaints for excessive force and to timely and properly discipline the officers implicated therein.”

The case settled for $360,000 prior to trial.  Because of the lawsuit’s exposure of failure to properly train and discipline its officers, Denver has instituted broad changes including the overhaul of the entire Denver Police Department disciplinary hearing system allowing for faster, expedient, and robust discipline.  The work in this case resulted in this law firm being co-awarded the 2013 Colorado Trial Lawyer Association Case of Year.

Susan Chandler v. Adams 14 School District, et al. – Resolved December 2012

Former superintendent Dr. Susan Chandler, through her attorneys at Rathod | Mohamedbhai LLC, and Adams 14 School District, through its attorneys, have negotiated a resolution of the claims arising from Dr. Chandler’s employment.  The District adamantly denies Dr. Chandler’s claims of wrongful termination and maintains it elected not to renew her contract because the District needed a change in leadership.  Its contribution of $380,000 to the total settlement is for the sole purpose of avoiding the expense and time associated with litigation.  It was publicly reported that the total settlement for Dr. Chandler was $700,000.00.

*Disclaimer: Rathod | Mohamedbhai LLC does not guarantee specific results based on previous case results. Individual results vary on a case by case basis.