Why is Fresno Unified changing lawyers in Don Arax defamation case?
Fresno Unified is switching attorneys as the school district defends a defamation lawsuit filed by a football coach.
Don Arax, the former Bullard High School football coach, filed a lawsuit against the district and Trustee Keshia Thomas in 2022, alleging Thomas defamed him in an interview. During an interview on the GV Wire “Unfiltered” program, Thomas said the coach used the N-word against her son at a practice.
Arax denied the allegation in his defamation lawsuit. He is now coaching at Central Valley Christian in Visalia.
The district’s general counsel, Mark T. Harris, confirmed the move to The Fresno Bee, from Fresno-based Whitney, Thompson and Jeffcoach to Johnston and Hutchinson LLP of Los Angeles.
“The firm that we switched to will provide a more effective, comprehensive approach to representation in that case,” Harris said.
Mandy Jeffcoach, attorney for Whitney, Thompson and Jeffcoach, also confirmed the move. Jeffcoach’s firm still represents the district in other cases.
The district will file a formal substitution-of-counsel with court soon, Harris said.
Trustees Susan Wittrup and Andy Levine said they could not comment because of the pending litigation. Other trustees either did not respond or directly answer questions about the change.
Why the switch?
WTJ Law, as the firm is known, recently lost a high-profile case, representing the city of Fresno in a federal wrongful termination case. The jury awarded Kiki Wilson $15 million. The city is challenging the ruling.
Harris said he was aware of that case, but that was “absolutely not” the reason for the change.
”The firm that we switched to is headed by a gentleman who is one of the top trial lawyers in the country. His firm is very effective. His colleagues have pretty extensive experience in education law. One of the challenges Fresno Unified has faced is that even in cases they win, they’ve been out of a tremendous amount of money in legal expenses and fees and other things, and we’re trying to turn that around,” Harris said.
Harris said that attorney Thomas J. Johnston is a specialist in defamation cases.
At the May 27 Fresno Unified board meeting, the board voted, 7-0, to add Johnston and Hutchinson to its master legal list. Harris said the decision to switch attorneys in this case was made in closed session, but that vote did not appear to be reported in open session. A district spokesperson clarified that the board approves the attorney list, and staff decides which firm represents each case.
Johnston and Hutchison’s rate is $325-$600 an hour, according to FUSD documents. WTJ Law charges $300-$400. Harris said those figures can be deceiving.
“The hourly rate is not apples to apples, meaning one lawyer at a higher rate is better than four lawyers at a lower rate,” Harris said. “Overall, I think we’ll be in a much more efficient space with the firm that we’re having work on that case than we would have been without them.”
Added Harris: “This isn’t late in the game. This is an attempt to try to give the district the best representation possible.”
Case returns to court June 9
Judge Kristi Culver Kapetan is scheduled to hear a motion June 9 on a summary judgment motion from Thomas that could dismiss her from the case.
Fresno Unified has a motion for summary judgment scheduled next month. A trial is scheduled for Dec. 7.
The district is covering Thomas’ legal expenses. She is represented by her own attorney, Bruce Berger.
