Jury awards former PRC worker $960K under state whistle-blower law [The Santa Fe New Mexican]

Jan. 19--A Santa Fe jury on Friday awarded former Public Regulation Commission employee Aaron Feliciano$355,345 in damages, finding he was fired in retaliation for pointing out problems with the troubled state agency.

Because the case was brought under the state's 2010 Whistleblower Protection Act -- the first time such a case has gone to trial -- damages will be doubled and legal fees, estimated at $250,000, will be added, for a total award of more than $960,000. Damages will be paid by state taxpayers.

"In spite of all the insults against me and how tough this whole process was for my attorneys, family and friends, I can tell you, I just hope state employees get to say to themselves, 'Oh, we can finally fix this,' " Feliciano after the verdict. "Ninety-five percent or whatever are hardworkers. They just need the right leadership to support that."

Feliciano was fired from his $85,000-a-year exempt position as compliance director for the PRC's Insurance Division in 2009, after he complained that his supervisors were hiring political contributors to investigate insurance cases, resulting in slow, costly and ineffective investigations.

In 2010, he sued the PRC, former PRC chief of staff Danny Mayfield and former Insurance Division director Morris Chavez under the Whistleblower Protection Act -- which covers incidents going back to July 1, 2008 -- claiming he was fired for criticizing cronyism within the PRC.

The jury trial began Tuesday before state District Judge Raymond Ortiz.

During closing arguments on Friday morning, defense attorney Douglas Gardner insisted Feliciano had been fired for poor job performance and unprofessional conduct -- and that even before he was fired, Feliciano had begun documenting his supervisors' actions and had hired a lawyer in preparation for a lawsuit.

"The purpose of this job-security plan was simply to make it harder for his employer to fire him," Gardner said.

Gardner urged the jurors to reject damages in the case to show New Mexicans that state employees will be held accountable for their actions, and that "we do not tolerate individuals to use the threat of a lawsuit" to keep their jobs.

Feliciano's lawyer, Bryan Davis, said awarding damages under the new state law would send a different message.

"With this case, you can show New Mexicans that you care about how government functions," he said. "You can send a message to the PRC."

Davis ridiculed what he called "the attempts to smear Mr. Feliciano as an incompetent boob who couldn't do his job."

Although Feliciano "did not perform perfectly," Davis said, "he nailed some bad guys" by getting licenses revoked from insurance agents who committed fraud.

Davis hammered away at the defense's argument that Feliciano falsely claimed he was a certified public accountant in New Mexico, calling it "the biggest mountain ever made out of molehill."

Outside the courtroom, Feliciano said he had both a CPA certificate and license in Illinois, although he never was licensed as a CPA in New Mexico. "Fortunately, my attorneys were able to cut through that and show that it was such a bunch of baloney," he said, "and the jurors were so alert, taking notes, that they cut right through it, too."

The jury foreman, Ann Woodward, agreed. "We really didn't bite on that one," she said after the verdict. "That was so over the top."

Woodward said the main factors that influenced the verdict were that the Insurance Division was not living up to its mission and that there was a vendetta against Feliciano.

The jury took about three hours, including lunch, before rendering its verdict. Only one juror disagreed. Unlike juries in criminal cases, which must be unanimous, civil-case juries need agreement from only 10 of the 12 jurors.

Mayfield, who now serves on the Santa Fe County Commission, said outside the courtroom that he respects the jury's verdict.

Chavez, who now has a private law practice in Albuquerque, said he, too, respects the verdict but hopes for a successful appeal.

Feliciano's award from the PRC is the largest since 2008, when a Santa Fe jury awarded $841,842 to Wyla Green, who said she had been sexually harassed while working as an assistant to former PRC member David King.

At least four other women have sued the PRC in the last year, alleging harassment or discrimination. One of them, Annette Prada, was found dead of an apparent suicide Nov. 29, three days after her lawsuit was filed, in what family members said was the result of "bullying and stress" at her job.

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.

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