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Wichita County v. Hart3/18/1999
This appeal arises out of a whistleblower suit, in which Allen Hart and Ernie Williams sued Wichita County for wrongful termination under the Whistleblower Act. The jury found against Wichita County, and awarded Hart and Williams $1,341,142. Wichita County asserts two points on appeal, contending that Hart and Williams did not act in good faith when they reported suspected criminal conduct by the Sheriff's office, and that the trial court erred by excluding expert testimony from a district attorney. Because we find that Hart and Williams did not act in good faith when they reported the alleged criminal conduct, we reverse the trial court's judgment and render judgment that Hart and Williams recover nothing against Wichita County.
BACKGROUND
Hart and Williams were both employed as deputy sheriffs in the Wichita County Sheriff's Department ("WCSD") since January 1977. The WCSD requires bail bondsmen to post security to protect the County in the event of a bond forfeiture. For the past 20 years or more, bondsmen have been allowed to meet this requirement by filing a deed of property with the WCSD. The deeds were usually kept in the desk or files of Marilyn Fulton, office manager for the WCSD. Fulton was in charge of bail bonds and had served as the sheriff's representative on the Bail Bond Board, which licenses bondsmen, since its inception in 1982.
In 1986, the then-sheriff resigned, and Hart and Williams both took active roles in supporting the appointment of Tom Callahan as the new sheriff. Callahan was appointed, and Williams' wife later served as Callahan's campaign treasurer during his first election for sheriff in 1988. Sheriff Callahan promoted Williams to sergeant in the patrol division in 1986. In 1988, Sheriff Callahan appointed then-Captain Hart to the newly created position of major. In his new position, Hart was subordinate only to Sheriff Callahan and the chief deputy and was responsible for all the day-to-day operations of the WCSD, including all operational decisions and management of the department's $3.5 million-per-year budget. Before February 1989, neither Hart nor Williams had ever experienced any form of disciplinary action related to their employment in the WCSD.
In March 1987, Sheriff Callahan requested updated security from bondsmen Roger Crampton, Barbara Crampton, Holly Crampton Estrada, and Robert Estrada. They signed a deed transferring specific real property owned by Roger Crampton and Barbara Crampton to "Thomas J. Callahan, Sheriff of Wichita County, Texas, and his successors in office. . . ."
In May 1988, a judgment for about $7,300 was rendered in Young County against Barbara Crampton, Holly Crampton Estrada, Robert Estrada, and the partnership of Crampton, Crampton & Estrada, in favor of Graham National Bank. The judgment was abstracted and recorded in Wichita County in July 1988. A writ of execution was issued and sent to the WCSD. Before the judgment could be satisfied, two of the judgment debtors, Holly Crampton Estrada and Robert Estrada, filed for bankruptcy , which stayed execution on the entire judgment. The first writ of execution was then returned nulla bona.
About six weeks after the Estradas filed for bankruptcy , Marilyn Fulton filed the deed signed by Roger Crampton, Barbara Crampton, Holly Crampton Estrada, and Robert Estrada that had been in the WCSD's possession since March 1987. Fulton wanted all potential creditors of the Cramptons and Estradas to have notice that the real property already belonged to Wichita County.
In February 1989, the bankruptcy stay was lifted only as to Barbara Crampton. Then a second writ of execution was issued solely against her. On Febr
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