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Lindberg v. California Dep't of Education10/31/2005
ignoring reports of fraud and not having a good system in place for detecting it. The federal government sued CDE to recover the misappropriated federal ESL grant funds.
Subsequently, CDE, which prior to 1998 had taken no overt action in response to reports of fraud, finally began cutting off funds to noncompliant CBO's and demanding money back.
Lindberg's Second Heart Attack and Retirement
After 1998, Lindberg was assigned to do reviews for the federally funded jail adult education program, administered by Polster. However, he had recurring difficulty obtaining the files that he was supposed to work on. He continually complained about not being able to get access to his files.
In a department-wide meeting in October 2000, Lindberg passed a note to Eastin complaining about the fraud, retaliation and the refusal of CDE to interview him "for a job that held for 20 years." As on prior occasions, he was ignored.
Lindberg then learned that Polster's successor, Mary Weaver, had instructed the Adult Education staff not to cooperate with him. Upon hearing this, Lindberg went home, distraught. He made repeated complaints to Weaver, but received no response.
Not long afterward, on Christmas Day 2000, Lindberg suffered a second heart attack. He consulted with his personal physician, Dr. Joseph Link, who lectured him about job stress and told him he had to quit or "it [the stress] is going to kill you." Following his doctor's advice, Lindberg decided to retire.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
After filing administrative claims with the State, Lindberg filed a complaint in May of 2001, alleging two statutory causes of action: (1) against CDE for whistle-blower retaliation in violation of Labor Code section 1102.5 and (2) against CDE, Eastin and Polster for retaliation against a state employee who makes a protected disclosure in violation of Government Code section 8547.8.
The case was tried to a jury on both counts using a special verdict form. The jury found for Lindberg against all named defendants. The table below summarizes the verdict:
| As to Defendants
| Damages Awarded
| CDE
| Economic Damages: $506,166
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| Non-economic Damages: $750,000
| CDE, Eastin, Polster
| Economic Damages: $506,166
|
| Non-economic Damages:
|
| CDE: $962,500
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| Eastin: $1,375,000
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| Polster: $412,500
|
In a second phase of trial, the jury assessed punitive damages against Eas
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