A judge has denied the city of Los Angeles’ motion for a new trial in the case of a former Los Angeles Police Department commander who was awarded $5.7 million by a jury in her retaliation suit.
Former Cmdr. Nicole Mehringer was found passed out and drunk in a police vehicle that crashed into a parked car while she was accompanied by a subordinate in 2018 in Glendale. She contended that by being terminated, she was treated more harshly than male counterparts involved in similar situations while under the influence.
A Los Angeles Superior Court panel deliberated for about 90 minutes before reaching its verdict on March 18. The award includes $3.75 million to compensate Mehringer for past and future loss of reputation and emotional distress.
On Thursday, Judge Theresa M. Traber denied the city’s motions for a new trial and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict in a 39-page ruling.
“It is undisputed that (then-Chief Michel Moore) had the authority to reduce the penalty recommended by the Board of Rights but not increase it, meaning that a jury could infer that he had not necessarily made up his mind at the time he referred plaintiff to the Board of Rights for termination,” the judge wrote.
The city was free to argue its interpretation of these facts to jurors, but the “mere fact of the referral for termination does not foreclose a retaliatory motive in the eventual termination decision…,” the judge further wrote.
Thus, the city did not establish that , which came after all the other the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict, Traber determined.
According to the city’s court papers, Traber erred in excluding portions of former LAPD Chief Michel Moore’s testimony that would have allowed the defense to show there were legitimate, independent reasons to terminate her.
The judge said her decision had no impact on the case.
“Even if the court had erred in precluding Chief Moore’s testimony, (the city) has not shown that it was prejudiced by the ruling,” Traber wrote.
A Board of Rights hearing concluded with Mehringer being found guilty of being drunk in a public place, allowing an intoxicated subordinate to operate the plaintiff’s city-owned vehicle as well as failing to cooperate with police during her arrest and booking, the suit stated.
Mehringer pleaded guilty to failing to disclose to the department that she was involved in a romantic relationship with a subordinate, the suit further stated.