WHOOPEE! ARROGANT AND SECRETIVE BUREAUCRATS FOUND PERSONALLY LIABLE! IS THIS A FIRST?


Sometimes, despite the cliché, you can fight city hall. And sometimes you can win. Mario Moreno, an east Sacramento gardener and son of migrant farmworkers who lost his home-to-be when the city demolished it - but not his desire for vindication - won Friday when a federal court jury awarded him $717,000 in damages. The eight women and two men found that the 51-year-old Moreno was denied his constitutional right to due process on Jan. 31, 2001, when the city, with no final warning, knocked down a building he was renovating for his home. "The lowest point in my life was when I lost my building, and the highest is right now," Moreno said as he walked out of the courtroom after the verdict.

The jurors - some of whom said they easily arrived at the verdict - found that city policies led to the violation of Moreno's rights, and further held Max Fernandez, a director of Neighborhood Services; Josh Pino, the city's principal building inspector; and building inspector John Vanella individually responsible. The jury, which deliberated slightly more than five hours over two days, awarded Moreno $330,000 in connection with those findings. The jurors also found that Moreno's Fourth Amendment guarantee against unreasonable seizure was violated when the wrecking crew dropped the building on personal property he had stored there. Again, the jury found that city policies led to a constitutional violation and held Fernandez and Vanella individually responsible. The jury awarded Moreno $37,000 in connection with those findings. In addition, the jury found that Pino and Vanella intentionally inflicted emotional distress on Moreno. Based on that finding, the jurors assessed $200,000 in punitive damages against Pino and $150,000 against Vanella.

Thomas Cregger, the city's trial attorney, said after the verdicts that he and the three individual defendants had been asked by the city to defer comment because the city will release a prepared statement. Calls to city spokeswoman Liz Brenner asking for the statement went unanswered.

Moreno's attorney, Andrea "Andi" Miller, said, "My grateful thanks goes to this jury. I think they did a wonderful job."

Moreno missed several deadlines to complete the renovation of the one-time Elmhurst neighborhood grocery store at 1915 48th St. But, with the help of friends, neighbors and relatives, he continued the work when he had the money for materials and the time. "I put a roof on it, new insulation, steel framing, copper pipe, air conditioning and heating," he said of the one-story brick structure that dated to the early 20th century. Moreno had a special affection for the building, which, as a grocery store, had been the hub of the neighborhood. The sixth of 12 children, he had lived most of his life in the family's Discovery Way home on a lot that backed up to the store.

The building fell into disrepair and the store closed. In 1995 it was declared dangerous. The city took the position that once a building is declared dangerous, it stays that way until its condition warrants an occupancy permit, no matter how much it is upgraded in the meantime. Moreno and his helpers weren't moving fast enough to suit Pino, who pushed the City Attorney's Office to authorize demolition. In her closing argument to the jury, Miller said the evidence showed Pino gave the City Attorney's Office scant information about the extent of the building's improvements in order to mislead Deputy City Attorney Lan Wang as he made a decision. Pino also squelched Wang's wish to send Moreno a final warning letter that the building was coming down. Such a letter could have led to Wang learning of the building's true condition. Pino "knows if he gives Wang current information, there's going to be big questions," Miller told the jury in her closing argument.

The city based the demolition on Moreno's failure to comply with a 1999 repair order and a September 2000 agreement he signed to complete the project within 60 days.

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