A Suffolk Superior Courtroom jury returned a verdict in opposition to the Boston Water and Sewer Fee’s embattled human assets director Marie Theodat, and ordered her to pay $72,000 to the girl she stiffed on a $75,000 mortgage mortgage.
The decision, handed down Tuesday, concludes a almost weeklong trial for this lawsuit filed in opposition to Theodat in 2020, however is way from the top of the street for the Fee’s lately promoted prime human assets govt, who’s embroiled in two different civil lawsuits that embody fraud allegations.
On this occasion, the jury opted to order Theodat to pay lower than the unique $75,000 mortgage mortgage she borrowed from the plaintiff, Gertha Pierre, on account of Pierre’s testimony that Theodat made a $3,000 fee a month after she took out the mortgage, in March 2016.
Theodat defaulted on the mortgage that very same month, forming the idea of the grievance, which contended that she by no means paid it again, regardless of signing a promissory observe. The jury agreed, ruling in favor of Pierre for everything of the mortgage, excluding the prior $3,000 fee the plaintiff had attested to in the course of the trial.
“The verdict was clearly justified by the evidence,” William Spallina, a Boston-based legal professional who represented Pierre within the case, informed the Herald. “We appreciate the effort the jury made, reaching a verdict.”
Michael Keohane, one other legal professional representing Pierre, informed the Herald final month that the dearth of compensation for the $75,000 mortgage had made issues arduous for his shopper, “who hoped to use that money for investment purposes.”
“She was out that money, which was a considerable amount, plus the anticipated return that she had,” Keohane mentioned on the time.
Theodat’s legal professional Jeanette Marie Lucey didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Theodat was additionally the topic of a cross-claim from Ernst Guerrier, a previous co-defendant that sought to make her answerable for the $30,000 fee he made to Pierre as a settlement for his alleged involvement within the matter.
Because the legal professional who helped Pierre safe the mortgage, Guerrier was beforehand dealing with malpractice allegations for withholding pertinent data from Pierre which will have made her assume twice about making the $75,000 mortgage mortgage, in accordance with the grievance.
Anthony Ellison, a Dorchester-based legal professional who represented Guerrier within the case, mentioned there was no malpractice nor fault on the a part of his shopper, who negotiated a settlement quantity with Pierre, to assist reimburse her for a number of the funds she had been stiffed on by Theodat.
For that, his shopper was searching for restitution from Theodat, he mentioned. The jury disagreed, ruling in opposition to the cross-claim.
“My client is grateful that the jury held Ms. Theodat responsible for swindling $72,000 from Ms. Pierre and that a measure of justice was done by that finding,” Ellison mentioned. “Though he is disappointed that they did not find that she should reimburse the money he paid Ms. Pierre on her behalf, he is content with the knowledge that through his testimony, and the evidence he provided, the jury was able to prevent Ms. Theodat from continuing to avoid responsibility for her actions.”
Theodat is embroiled in two different civil lawsuits, together with a higher-profile case from August that alleges she labored with family to swindle her aged and dementia-ridden uncle out of his $1.1 million Dorchester residence.
The brand new lawsuit, filed in Superior Courtroom on Aug. 20, alleges Theodat “fraudulently induced” her uncle to signal over the deed to his longtime residence for “less than $100” underneath the “guise” he was signing paperwork associated to his medical care.
Boston Water and Sewer Fee payroll information obtained by the Herald by a public information request present Theodat was promoted to her present place, of chief human useful resource officer, on Sept. 1, and has acquired a 61% pay hike since 2019. Her present wage is $202,873, an almost 27% improve in pay from 2023.
