A Fresno City Council member broke ranks Thursday with city officials and said the city should not fight a recent $15.4 million decision for two former city employees who claimed racism and a hostile work environment.
Councilmember Miguel Arias said while the city’s management of the code enforcement department has changed since the events in the lawsuit, the conduct was still within City Hall. He said the treatment of plaintiff La-Kebbia “Kiki” Wilson and co-plaintiff Charles Smith was “reprehensible.”
“It is time for the city to take responsibility, resolve this matter, and learn from the mistakes that were made under the prior city attorney,” Arias said in a news release. “Prolonging this case through an appeal would only delay justice and increase costs to taxpayers.”
A federal jury of eight awarded Wilson $15 million and $400,000 to Smith after a 10-day trial that ended Wednesday. The amount the city spent on contracted attorneys from Whitney Thompson & Jeffcoach LLP and any other defense during the case, which began in 2019, was not immediately available.
Wilson, who is Black, said in her lawsuit she was subjected to a string of racism and other indignities by a supervisor and was retaliated against by colleagues with higher ranking. Smith, a white man, said his mistreatment came from his association with Wilson and his decision not to side with the supervisor.
Officials with the city on Wednesday hinted they would likely appeal the decision, saying they had to keep the city’s pocketbook in mind.
“If this judgment is upheld, there will be tough decisions ahead if we’re going to balance our budget,” Council President Mike Karbassi said on Wednesday. “While I am very sensitive to the allegations, I also have a responsibility to protect the financial well-being of our current public employees who provide vital services to the public.”
City Attorney Andrew Janz said on Thursday Arias does not speak for the City Council or administrative leaders.
“Your readers should understand that a single council member does not speak on behalf of the city,” Janz said. “Although I understand a council member may have extended a personal apology, the council will discuss the city’s next steps in closed session next week.”
Arias said the city should treat aggrieved employees like it so often does the plaintiffs who accuse police officers of brutality. Arias said he’ll vote against any plan to appeal the judgment in the Wilson and Smith case.
“Too often, the city has been quick to settle claims brought by police officers while prolonging cases brought by members of the public, nonprofit organizations and civilian employees,” Arias said. “Those decisions ultimately cost taxpayers millions more in legal fees when cases are eventually lost in court or settled after years of litigation.”
The city of Fresno settled two wrongful death cases in 2021 for less than $5 million each, for example. They followed years of litigation.
Wilson’s attorney, Kevin Schwin, said Wednesday after the verdict the city’s largest offer to settle the Wilson and Smith case, which began in 2019, was less than $400,000 for both of them. Wilson declined to give an amount for which she would have considered settling.
From left: Attorney Kevin Schwin, Charles Smith, La-Kebbia Wilson and George Wilson, La-Kebbia Wilson’s husband, pose outside the courthouse on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, after receiving the verdict of more than $15 million in the hostile work environment case. THADDEUS MILLER tmiller@fresnobee.com Racism and hostile work environment case in Fresno
Much of the trial circled around a time in July 2018, when Smith told Wilson about language he’d heard from a supervisor in the city of Fresno’s code enforcement department.
Smith testified he felt torn about his friendship with the supervisor and the remarks the supervisor was saying about Wilson, including calling her an “entitled (N-word)” and claiming she played the race card to her benefit.
On another occasion, the supervisor described Wilson as “lazy and a piece of sh–.”
During his testimony, the supervisor denied ever using those words. An internal investigation came back without finding he had used the word, according to testimony.
“We proved our case, and the city of Fresno never took this case seriously,” Schwin, the attorney, said. “They fought it for over seven years in court, and we finally had our day in court and justice prevailed.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 4:39 PM.
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Reporter Thaddeus Miller has covered cities in the central San Joaquin Valley since 2010, writing about everything from breaking news to government and police accountability. A native of Fresno, he joined The Fresno Bee in 2019 after time in Merced and Los Banos.