Judge to rule on new trial in case against Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department

Sacramento Superior Court Judge David De Alba heard arguments Wednesday from Sacramento County attorneys seeking a new trial in a lawsuit filed by female sheriff’s deputies who claimed they were targeted for retaliation by their superiors.

De Alba is scheduled to offer a ruling July 18 in the matter.

Jurors in May awarded nearly $3.6 million to sheriff’s Lts. Annica Hagadorn and Dawn Douglas, Sgt. Tracie Keillor and Deputy Jodi Mendonca.

De Alba tentatively upheld the verdict in a Tuesday ruling, but attorneys for the county calling on De Alba to toss out Keillor’s multimillion-dollar award said Wednesday state workers’ compensation officials were still considering her claim. County attorneys also questioned Keillor’s contention that a stroke she suffered was triggered by an internal investigation into allegations that she improperly accessed electronic personnel files, citing injury claims Keillor filed in 2008 and 2010.

Attorneys for the county also renewed arguments that lead plaintiff Hagadorn’s transfer from her position as a north area patrol commander to a corrections position hours from her home was not a punitive move following complaints filed with Fair Employment and Housing officials. They also maintained that superior officers including now-Undersheriff Erik Maness did not retaliate against Douglas, Keillor and Mendonca after they confronted Maness with their suspicions that he and a female deputy were involved in an inappropriate relationship.

This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Judge to rule on new trial in case against Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department."