An attorney who alleged he was wrongfully terminated from his job as a supervising attorney at a nonprofit in retaliation for repeatedly complaining about potential fraudulent billing and workplace violations has reached a settlement in his lawsuit.
Attorneys for Al Otro Lado filed court papers Friday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Christopher K. Lui notifying him of an “unconditional” resolution of the case brought by Diego Javier Aranda Teixeira. No terms were divulged.
Al Otro Lado provides holistic legal and humanitarian support to refugees, deportees and other migrants. Aranda Teixeira alleges he was wrongfully terminated from his job as a supervising attorney in retaliation for repeatedly complaining about potential fraudulent billing and workplace violations. The organization is based in San Ysidro in San Diego County.
In their previous court papers, Al Otro Lado attorneys denied Aranda Teixeira’s allegations and said his causes of action were based on “legal conclusions.”
Aranda Teixeira filed the suit last Dec. 18, alleging wrongful termination and whistleblower retaliation. He was hired by the organization’s Tijuana office in January 2020 and in 2022 was transferred to the agency’s U.S-based advocacy team as managing attorney for litigation. Aranda Teixeira supervised the organization’s Los Angeles, San Diego and Tijuana teams.
During Aranda Teixeira’s employment, he noticed Al Otro Lado was in alleged violation of the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts program conditions by not filling the funded positions and cross-billing, contrary to the grant’s terms, the suit stated.
Starting in August 2024 and lasting until his termination, Aranda Teixeira and others on the U.S. team repeatedly complained about suspected illegalities, such as potential fraudulent billing issues, and raised concerns regarding workplace violations, such as retaliation, to both the organization’s board executive director and to its operations director, the suit further stated.
Aranda Teixeira and the U.S. team’s lower-ranked supervisors and managers were accused by upper management of “collective bullying” for advocating for a safe work environment and collaborative hiring practices to meet grant requirements, the suit further alleged.
While doing an asylum interview in December 2024, Aranda Teixeira was terminated for alleged serious violations of company policies and data security rules, the suit stated.