![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Woman-Who-Won-15M-Discrimination-Lawsuit-Against-Fresno-Fights-Back-as-City-Tries-to-Decrease-Her-Aw.jpeg\")
Credit: California Black Media Credit: California Black Media<\/p>\nCredit: California Black Media Credit: California Black Media<\/p>\n
By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media<\/p>\n
Lawyers for La-Kebbia \u201cKiki\u201d Wilson, a Black woman who won a $15 million racial discrimination lawsuit against the City of Fresno in March, fired back at the city\u2019s motion for a new trial with a pointed response, calling it a distortion of the facts.<\/p>\n
Wilson\u2019s attorneys, Gary G. Goyette and Kevin Schwin, said in their 32-page notice to U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California Judge Kirk E. Sheriff that the city presented a \u201cwatered-down version of the facts\u201d that ignores egregious conduct Wilson suffered and dismisses the reputational harm caused to her on grounds unsupported by law.<\/p>\n
The lawyers, who also represent Wilson\u2019s co-plaintiff Charles Smith, insist the jury\u2019s unanimous verdict was objective and should stand.<\/p>\n
\u201cContrary to the City\u2019s arguments, the jury followed the law,\u201d they wrote in the notice dated May 20. \u201cThe verdict is supported by the evidence and is entitled to great deference by the Court. However, to the extent the Court is inclined to remit the damages, any remittitur must reflect the maximum amount sustainable by the proof.\u201d<\/p>\n
The case centers on allegations of years of racial harassment, retaliation, and inadequate oversight within Fresno\u2019s Code Enforcement Department. A federal jury ruled in favor of Wilson, who worked as a Community Revitalization Specialist from 2004 to 2013 and again from 2016 to 2022. The jury also sided with Smith, a former part-time and later full-time Code Enforcement employee, holding the city liable and awarding him $400,000 in damages.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit describes repeated racial harassment by supervisor Howard Lacy \u2014 including calling Wilson an \u201centitled n****r\u201d in 2018 \u2014 and retaliation after complaints were raised, while Fresno\u2019s leadership failed to respond. The allegations date back as far as the early 2000s.<\/p>\n
Wilson cried when the jury ruled in her favor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so happy the jury believed I was the person I said I was,\u201d she said. \u201cFor Black people in general, we want people to respect us for who we are \u2014 not what we are stereotyped to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t thinking about money at all,\u201d Wilson added. \u201cI felt vindicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fresno\u2019s attorneys filed a motion for a new trial or a partial new trial to reduce the damages in April. They wrote that the March 11 judgment in favor of Wilson and Smith \u201cexceeds awards that case law has held excessive, despite more concrete proof of more severe emotional distress in those other cases.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite a record that objectively supports a sum lower than in other reported cases, this jury returned an award that far exceeds other amounts that have been judicially found to be excessive,\u201d the 30-page motion read. \u201cA trial judge has both broad authority and a duty to intervene where a damages award is excessive. Not only does the size of the verdict alone warrant such intervention, but so do other circumstances that indicate that a judge\u2019s moderation should accompany the jury\u2019s verdict.\u201d<\/p>\n
When contacted by California Black Media (CBM), spokespersons for the Fresno City Attorney\u2019s Office and Whitney, Thompson & Jeffcoach LLP declined to comment.<\/p>\n
In the days after the trial, Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias urged the city not to appeal, saying further litigation is costly and unjust to Fresno taxpayers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe conduct described in this case was wrong and reprehensible and does not reflect the values of our city or the safe, respectful workplace every employee deserves,\u201d Arias said. \u201cIt is time for the City to take responsibility, resolve this matter, and learn from the mistakes that were made under the prior city attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next hearing is scheduled for June 15, continuing a long-running legal battle that began with the lawsuit\u2019s filing in 2019.<\/p>\n
In their filing, Wilson\u2019s lawyers reiterated her claims \u2014 including that Lacy called her lazy and dishonest and pressured co-workers to stay away from her \u2014 and argued in favor of the jury\u2019s verdict.<\/p>\n
Goyette and Schwin wrote that the jury carefully weighed the evidence over two days, even ruling in the city\u2019s favor on some issues and awarding Smith less than requested. They said jurors accurately assessed emotional distress damages.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor these reasons, determinations about \u2018intangible, non-economic losses\u2019 are \u2018peculiarly within a jury\u2019s ken,\u2019\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n
They also argued that the jury\u2019s finding is legally protected and entitled to respect.<\/p>\n
\u201cA district court may not grant a new trial simply because it would have arrived at a different verdict,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
The amount awarded is tied to the scope and severity of the harm done to Wilson, according to their filing. The attorneys said she experienced intimacy problems with her husband, was diagnosed with anxiety, developed heart problems, and experienced weight gain, insomnia, hair loss, and social withdrawal as a result of what she endured. Wilson\u2019s reputation was also tarnished professionally by years of discrimination and retaliation by Lacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt negatively impacted literally everything that is meaningful in life \u2014 her family, her career, her health, and her relationships with other people,\u201d the lawyers said.<\/p>\n
They also rejected Fresno\u2019s argument that damages should be reduced under federal limits, noting the case includes state law claims that allow higher awards.<\/p>\n
Wilson said the city tried to portray her as an \u201cangry Black woman,\u201d adding that anyone would react to the treatment she endured.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack, white, Hispanic, Asian,\u201d she said. \u201cAnyone would be angry. We need to start normalizing Black women\u2019s anger. I\u2019m not a robot. I get emotional sometimes. Black women are human. I have a right to be upset when people are hurting me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilson said the case is emotional but remains committed to seeing it through.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t care anything about what this verdict was,\u201d she said about the city. \u201cThey acknowledge that something happened but say it wasn\u2019t on their watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: California Black Media Credit: California Black Media By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media Lawyers for La-Kebbia \u201cKiki\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353515,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[2676,2677,2678,2679,2680,91434,179,112,114,113,100,2682,435,12760],"class_list":["post-353514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-african-american","tag-african-americans","tag-black-americans","tag-black-community","tag-black-people","tag-charles-smith","tag-community","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news","tag-news","tag-san-diego-voice-and-viewpoint","tag-united-states","tag-voice-and-viewpoint"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}