| Sex-abuse case to be retried, court rules: City of Wenatchee ordered to pay $718,000
By Michelle Partridge, World staff writer
WENATCHEE � The state Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court decision restoring a major civil rights lawsuit against the city of Wenatchee over how the 1994-95 child sex-abuse investigations were handled and ordering the city to pay more than $700,000 in penalties.
The state court ruled Tuesday that Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael Donohue did not err when he fined the city for withholding employment records of former Wenatchee Police Detective Bob Perez in lawsuits stemming from the cases. The records indicated Perez was suffering from a serious mental disability at the time he was conducting the investigations, attorneys have said in court.
Donohue also was justified in vacating two earlier jury verdicts, and allowing a new civil rights trial to be brought by East Wenatchee Pastor Robert "Roby" Roberson, Honnah Sims of Malaga and other co-plaintiffs. The ruling also restores Perez and former Wenatchee Police Chief Ken Badgley as defendants.
According to attorneys representing Roberson, about $125,000 in interest could be tacked onto the $718,000 Donohue levied against the city in January 2003.
"We're very pleased with the decision," said Auburn attorney Tyler Firkins, who represents Roberson, Sims, Donna Rodriguez, and their families.
"We believe that the Court of Appeals strongly stated and agreed with Judge Donohue that the city intentionally withheld documents in violation of the judge's orders of discovery. We feel the plaintiffs have been vindicated by this decision," he said.
In a 13-week trial held in 1998, a King County jury found the city and other defendants did not violate the civil rights of Roberson, Sims and the others. Plaintiffs had sought $60 million in damages. In 2001, a Spokane County jury found the city was negligent in the investigation of Roberson and his wife, Connie, but didn't award any damages.
In his ruling last year, Donohue threw out the earlier verdicts and found Perez's records were intentionally withheld from the court and Roberson's attorneys by the city. The judge said the records were of great importance and could have changed the case's direction. The documents included results of a pre-employment polygraph test and separate medical and state Department of Employment Security files. Police officials also expressed concerns about Perez's fitness for duty. The records surfaced in 2002 in a separate case.
The city argued that it did not intentionally withhold the information, and that the action did not hurt the plaintiffs' case during the trials.
But the state appellate court ruled Tuesday the city's argument "is without merit," the violation was "substantial," and the withheld files were "material to the plaintiffs' fair presentation of their case at the time of trial."
The state appellate court, consisting of judges Frank L. Kurtz, Dennis Sweeney and Kenneth Kato, wrote that "a new trial was the appropriate sanction for the city's willful failure to comply" with a court order to turn over the documents.
The appellate judges also ruled that Perez and Badgley could still be held as parties to the lawsuit, and thus liable for damages. The two had been dismissed from personal liability during the two earlier civil trials.
The city has 20 days to petition the appellate court to review Tuesday's decision, or appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.
The city's attorney, Patrick McMahon, said city officials have not yet reviewed the decision or decided how to proceed.
"At this stage we don't agree with the decision," he said. "But we'll sit down and see what's the appropriate action to take."
Asked whether he thought the city might try to settle the case out of court before another trial could begin, Firkins said, "We haven't had terrific luck in that regard, so we don't hold out any hope of that happening."
The 1994-95 investigations led to the felony convictions of 25 people in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. Since then, 18 people have had their convictions overturned or accepted plea bargains to lesser charges. Four served out their sentences and three received suspended sentences.
Roberson, his wife, Sims, and Rodriguez were never convicted of any sex crimes.
Michelle Partridge can be reached at 664-7152 or by e-mail at [email protected]
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