Jury awards damages to women in whistleblower lawsuit

The Beaumont Enterprise
Friday, October 18, 2002

Jury awards damages to women in whistleblower lawsuit

By Jacqueline Lane, The Enterprise

BEAUMONT - A jury has awarded $1.5 million to two former employees of a Beaumont care facility after they were fired for reporting an incident of alleged sexual abuse of residents.

A Jefferson County jury handed down its verdict Thursday in favor of Leatonia Wells and Sandra Fontenot against the Beaumont Living Center, also known as Oaks Living Center, and its management company for wrongful termination of employment in February of 1999. The management company for the intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded was Central Control of Alexandria, La.

The pair were awarded $300,000 in actual damages and $1.2 million in punitive damages, said Dallas-based attorney Julie Johnson, counsel for Leatonia Wells.

In February 1999, the state appointed a trustee following allegations staff members persuaded two residents to have sex for the employees' amusement. The center announced plans to close in May of last year.

Johnson said the jury found the center had violated the Texas Health and Safety Code when they terminated the two women for reporting the abuse and neglect.

They also found the center acted with malice in terminating the women and awarded the $1.2 million in punitive damages.

"My client is overjoyed and feels extremely relieved that the jury validated her conduct," Johnson said. "She stood up for them (the residents) and it was very comforting today that the jury stood up for her."

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