A federal jury this week awarded $500,000 to a former Klamath fire chief after finding Klamath County Fire District No. 1 breached his contract when it fired him in August 2013 without due process.
James Wenzel served as fire chief for five and a half years.
His lawyer argued that the county failed to provide Wenzel adequate notice or a hearing before his termination and never told him why he'd been under investigation.
Wenzel wasn't an "at will'' employee and could be terminated for only just cause, his lawyer, Karen E. Ford, noted.
"He was entitled to a full evidentiary hearing, either pre- or pos-termination, with full procedural protections,'' Ford wrote in court papers. But Wenzel was granted no such hearing, she said.
The district countered that the its board voted unanimously not to renew Wenzel's contract in August 2013 and placed him on paid leave until his contract ran out Dec. 31, 2013.