A judge has awarded $1.89 million to a man who sued Archdiocese of Los Angeles and St. Paul the Apostle Church, alleging he was wrongfully fired as the church’s facilities manager for complaining about the safety of installing a kiln in the closet of a classroom at the church school.
The $1.89 million in attorneys’ fees and costs granted to Frank Depto on Tuesday by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Broadbelt is more than twice the $763,580 in damages given to him by a jury in March, but far less than the $4.9 million that Depto sought. The defendants are appealing the verdict.
Depto was director of operations at St. Paul in 2014-17. He contended that St. Paul wrongfully terminated and retaliated against him for purported safety complaints relating to St. Paul’s initial consideration in November 2016 whether to install an electric kiln at the school to enhance the education of the children in the art class.
In his long-running suit filed in January 2018, Depto maintained that if the kiln was installed against the recommendations of the manufacturer, it could potentially burn down the school and endanger lives, many of them children. He contended that when he raised his concerns with a supervisor, the boss replied that the manufacturers’ recommended requirements were just recommendations and asked, “Why are you fighting me on this?”
Defense attorneys maintained that Depto’s allegations were false. They also said Depto rejected St. Paul’s offer to rehire him in May 2017 for the 2017/2018 school year because he disagreed with his updated job description. Depto also had an “abusive and demeaning attitude and conduct” toward St. Paul’s teachers, maintenance personal, staff and employees, according to the defense lawyers.