Philip A. Kouwe was recruited by the City of Wickliffe, Ohio for the position of Fire Chief, moving his family from North Carolina to Ohio to take the position. Within a year, the City’s mayor terminated Kouwe. Kouwe sued, contending that the City violated his due process rights by terminating him without a hearing. Kouwe also claimed that his termination constituted the tort of “outrageous conduct.”
The City argued that, as Fire Chief, Kouwe was not a civil service employee and thus was not entitled to a due process hearing prior to termination. The City also contended that Kouwe was still a probationary employee, he had no protected property right to the job, and thus no due process rights. The City also argued that Kouwe received pre-termination due process because, prior to his termination, he was provided with a detailed litany of performance issues that warranted his termination and because he had several chances to present his side of the story to the Mayor and to the City Council.
A jury sided with Kouwe, unanimously awarding him $81,500.00 in back wages and $15,000.00 punitive damages to be assessed against the Mayor. The trial judge subsequently ordered Kouwe’s reinstatement, increasing the award of back wages to $147,213.62 to take into account the reinstatement date. The Court also awarded Kouwe $108,598.90 in attorney fees and $2,030.60 in litigation expenses.
Unreported decision. LRIS would like to thank attorney Jeffrey J. Sokolowski of Cleveland, Ohio for alerting us to this case. Sokolowski represented Kouwe in the litigation.