Judge rules against new racial discrimination trial, but reduces amount Hutto must pay

American-Statesman file

Austin American-Statesman
Claire Osborn, Austin American-Statesman
January 19, 2024

A federal judge has ruled against the city of Hutto's motion for a new trial in a racial discrimination lawsuit won last year by former City Manager Odis Jones. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Lane, in his order, also reduced the total amount of damages the city must pay Jones from $12.5 million to $7.5 million.

The attorneys for the city and for Jones did not respond to requests for comment.

A federal Judge has ruled against the city of Hutto's request for a new trial in the racial discrimination lawsuit filed by former City Manager Odis Jones.
Osborn, Claire

"The court understands the root of Hutto’s throw-everything-at-the-wall-to-see-what-sticks strategy: it is downright repugnant that a governmental entity, here a fast-growing city, discriminated against a person on the basis of race," the judge said in his order issued on Jan. 11.

Lane also ruled that Jones has the option to make a motion by Jan. 25 for the city to pay his attorney's fees, the order said. Jones testified during the trial that his attorney's fees were $500,000, but according to the law his testimony alone was not enough, according to the judge's order. It said the court must determine the fees based on several factors, including determining the reasonable number of hours spent on the litigation and the reasonable hourly rates for the participating lawyers.

More:Jury awards $12.5 million to former Hutto city manager in racial discrimination suit

Jones sued the city in December 2020, saying it had breached his contract by voiding his $412,000 separation agreement because of his race. He also said the city breached the separation agreement by disparaging him.

Jones, who is Black, was Hutto's city manager from 2016 to 2019. In November 2019, the City Council approved the severance agreement. The council voided the agreement Dec. 3, 2020, saying it was not properly executed. 

A jury awarded Jones a total of $12.5 million on March 2. The total included $4.5 million for breach of contract and included $8 million for racial discrimination.

The judge said in the order that the jury was partly wrong because the maximum legal recovery in the case for breach of contract is $500,000. Since Jones did not specify what portion of his attorney's fees stemmed from protecting his contract rights, there could be a risk of his legal fees being paid twice — once in the discrimination award and once in the breach of contract award, the judge's order said.

"Based on the risk of a double recovery, Jones is willing to remit his $4.5 million contract claim damages award," the judge said. The judge also ordered that Jones pay back an additional $500,000 that Jones had testified were his legal fees.

The city's attorneys had argued against the jury's verdict, saying the trial transcripts and evidence “clearly and convincingly prove that any reasonable jury would not have a legally sufficient evidentiary basis" to find in Jones' favor, the judge's order said. The judge disagreed saying there was "ample evidence to support the jury’s finding of racial discrimination," the order said.

The evidence included that the city had never rescinded a separation agreement with any other employee, including a former city manager who is white, the order said. Jones was the first Black city manager in Hutto's history, according to the judge.

The jury also heard evidence that two members of the council, Mayor Mike Snyder and Council Member Tanner Rose, were motivated by racial hostility, the judge said.

"The jury heard from former assistant city manager (Byron) Frankland that Snyder said that during his time in Kansas City he 'got really good at spotting crooks,' which he described as 'black guys that he knew were coming into the store and stealing," the court document said. "The jury also heard that Snyder complained that generally there were 'too many minorities in city government.'"

In addition, the jury heard about a media interview in which Snyder and Rose discussed their effort to remove a plaque that featured Jones’ name, saying they "wanted to remove a dark stain from Hutto," the order said.

The city's attorneys also argued there was not evidence that a majority of the City Council voted for discriminatory reasons to rescind Jones' separation agreement, the order said.

The judge disagreed, saying that Snyder's and Rose's views on Jones affected other council members enough so that it voted to cancel Jones' separation agreement, according to the order. "The jury was also presented evidence that Snyder and Rose wielded outsized influence over their fellow councilmembers," the order said.

Snyder also testified during the trial that Jones' separation agreement was rescinded because Jones executed contracts illegally without proper authorization or the City Council's knowledge, the judge's order said. "But Snyder was impeached with evidence that the City Council authorized each of the transactions Snyder cited," the court document said.

The judge also said the city had breached its separation agreement with Jones by spreading disparaging information about him. The council's resolution to rescind the separation agreement and a letter from the city's attorney who supported it were both posted on Snyder's "Mayor of Hutto" Facebook page, the order said.

Jones also testified that every time he had a job interview or conversation after he left Hutto, he was asked "Did you do something illegal down there?," the order said. The city also disparaged Jones, according to testimony in the trial, because there was City Council action to remove the plaque from City Hall that bore Jones' name, the judge said.