Report faults former Simi Valley city attorney in insurance payout

Dec. 17--Former Simi Valley City Attorney Marjorie Baxter was the person most responsible for the city's paying a nearly $20,000 insurance settlement even though the statute of limitations for filing a claim had expired, investigators have found.

"In order to have reached a finding that Marjorie Baxter was not responsible, or had no knowledge that (the) claim was processed by the City Attorney's Office, the statements of three other credible witnesses ... would have had to have been completely discounted," says a report by RCS Investigations and Consulting, which the city hired to look into the payment made in January.

When interviewed by investigators, "Baxter provided information that was at times confusing regarding her knowledge of (the) claim," the report states. Her "recollection of events did not appear to be nearly as clear as the other witnesses."

Baxter, 75, resigned in September in lieu of possibly being fired over the settlement and about five human resources complaints filed against her by Assistant City Attorney David Caceres and other city employees. She could not be reached for comment.

RCS Investigations, based in Anaheim Hills, filed its 70-page report with Simi Valley in October. The city released a heavily redacted version of it to The Star that month in response to a public records act request. That version blacked out all references to Baxter and other city employees involved in the settlement, including the conclusion that Baxter was the person most responsible for the payout.

Attorney Ron Bamieh, who represents The Star on First Amendment issues, pressed the city for a less redacted version. The City Council discussed the matter in closed session, and the city released one to him last week. That version removed the redacted references to Baxter but still blacked out the names of the other employees.

The $19,971 settlement paid to Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. stemmed from a March 25, 2012, traffic crash involving on-duty Simi Valley police Officer Corey Baker, whose police car spun out of control during a rainfall and hit a truck on Interstate 5 in Los Angeles County.

Baker's car sustained major damage, while the truck, driven by Salvador Espinoza, sustained minor damage, according to the California Highway Patrol. The CHP concluded that Baker caused the accident by driving too fast in the rain.

The California Government Code states that a claim for damages stemming from an incident that causes death, injury or property damage must be filed within six months. The claim by Espinoza's employer, Big E Produce Inc., was filed in October 2012. The six-month statute of limitations expired Sept. 26, 2012.

The council approved the settlement in closed session on Nov. 26, 2012, at the recommendation of Baxter's office. At the time, the council did not know the claim had been filed after the statute had expired.

According to the investigative report, the City Clerk's Office received the claim on Oct. 29, 2012, and forwarded it to the City Attorney's Office that day. The case file had Post-it notes from three city employees attached to it that said the claim had been filed outside the statute of limitations, the investigation found.

One said, "Marge, I recommend that this claim be rejected due to its untimeliness."

A City Attorney's Office employee whose name was redacted said she saw Baxter cross out that recommendation and then was instructed by her to settle the claim. She wrote on the same Post-it note, "O.K. to settle per MB on 11-5-12," the report states.

One note disappeared from the file and has never been found, the investigation found.

Another employee of the City Attorney's Office told investigators that when he pressed Baxter on why the claim was being paid, she said Baker "should be punished for his actions."

When investigators interviewed Baxter in June, she denied crossing out the recommendation, indicating she had never seen the Post-it note. She also denied saying Baker should be punished.

Another city employee told investigators that Baxter tried to get him to change his statement about the claim after it was paid.

"Based on the evidence, RCS Investigators concluded that City Attorney Marjorie Baxter was the person most responsible for processing the payment of (the) claim," the report concludes.

After Baxter's resignation from her $177,000-a-year job, Deputy City Attorney Sonia Hehir was appointed acting city attorney until the city, which has hired an executive search firm, finds a more permanent successor.

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