A former division chief for the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District who alleged in a lawsuit he was fired due to his age has been awarded $704,000 by a jury.
Following a monthlong trial in San Bernardino Superior Court, the seven-woman, five-man jury announced its verdict Monday, determining George Corley’s age was a “substantial motivating reason” for his termination, court records show.
The jury awarded the 62-year-old Corley $544,000 for past lost wages and $160,000 for future lost wages for a combined total of $704,000, according to the verdict form filed in court.
Only one juror voted against Corley, said Corley’s Redlands attorney, Sandra Noel.
“I definitely think it was fair,” Noel said of the verdict in a telephone interview Wednesday. “I think it was a long time coming.”
Noel said the county has the option of appealing the verdict.
Fire district spokeswoman Tracey Martinez deferred comment to county spokesman David Wert, who declined to comment.
Corley, now the chief of the Running Springs Fire Department, was fired in February 2012 after serving eight years with the fire district. He was 58 years old at the time. He previously served 27 years with the U.S. Forest Service and before that worked for CalFire for three years, Noel said.