$13.1M to Tercero: Jury awards millions to terminated Texas Southmost College president
BROWNSVILLE -- A federal jury has awarded former Texas Southmost College president Lily Tercero more than $13 million in damages for being fired during a sham termination hearing.
The verdict came late Thursday afternoon.
Tercero sued the college after it fired her in September 2016 for deliberately and recklessly failing to obtain windstorm insurance with board approval in compliance with state law; for allowing TSC checks to be stamped with signatures of people who were no longer trustees; for failing to timely search and fill the position of vice president for finance and administration; for failing to inform the board of the ailing nursing program and its pending suspension; for refusing a board member’s request that he personally sign and review checks in the amount of $10,000 or more and for not complying with a request for information sought by another member.
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The jury awarded Tercero $674.878.66 for lost earnings from her contract, which trustees voted to renew for three years in May 2016. After elections that same month, the trustees changed and a new majority fired her just months later.
The jury also awarded Tecero $12.5 million for diminished earning capacity and mental anguish.
Read more: https://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/m-to-tercero-jury-awards-millions-to-terminated-tsc-president/article_3b9230fe-e475-11e8-a300-f39ac6b6b799.html