The Jerry Baldwin Saga: 1998-2020

[AstroCajun]

I was wondering where the money will come from. Did we just lose our 3% gain to some yahoo. I find it very interesting that a jury in Baton Rouge came down with that decision. Smells fishy to me. Hope it is goes to appeal.

I'll explain the Baton Rouge part.

UL is a state agency.

Venue for lawsuits against state agencies is in Baton Rouge.

Baldwin's first win was to file in BR and take the case away from the people who saw his incompetance first hand.

I don't understand the rationale in placing the case before a jury because a plaintiff does not have the right to a jury trial against a state agency. The fact that it was a jury trial means that UL must have agreed to a jury.

It did not help that EBR has a more liberal jury pool than Lafayette.


What you should place your faith in is the hands of the district court judge who originally threw the case out. There are a few post trial motions available to UL (JNOV, New Trial).

I'd rather be going to the First Circuit trying to defend a successful post trial motion than trying to overturn the jury verdict. The standard of review is different.

If it is a factual determination, the court of appeal generally won't touch it unless the error in judgment was such that "no reasonable person could differ" on the conclusion. If the facts are subject to varying interpretations, the court of appeal is not going to overturn it just because one version is better.

In otherwords, if "reasonable minds could differ" the court won't touch a jury fact finding.

[MissingMandy]

_ I'll explain the Baton Rouge part.

UL is a state agency.

Venue for lawsuits against state agencies is in Baton Rouge.

Baldwin's first win was to file in BR and take the case away from the people who saw his incompetance first hand.

I don't understand the rationale in placing the case before a jury because a plaintiff does not have the right to a jury trial against a state agency. The fact that it was a jury trial means that UL must have agreed to a jury.

It did not help that EBR has a more liberal jury pool than Lafayette.


What you should place your faith in is the hands of the district court judge who originally threw the case out. There are a few post trial motions available to UL (JNOV, New Trial).

I'd rather be going to the First Circuit trying to defend a successful post trial motion than trying to overturn the jury verdict. The standard of review is different.

If it is a factual determination, the court of appeal generally won't touch it unless the error in judgment was such that "no reasonable person could differ" on the conclusion. If the facts are subject to varying interpretations, the court of appeal is not going to overturn it just because one version is better.

In otherwords, if "reasonable minds could differ" the court won't touch a jury fact finding. _

So in other words....we just lost our 3% gain for our athletes or is the University insured in some way for this kind of thing?

[rhineaux]

he sued the school, not the athletic dept.

I wonder what robert lee's take is on this.

[BrockMeaux]

Wow...just...wow.

I can't pretend to know everything, or even much of, what went on behind the scenes. But anybody who thinks that Baldwin was fired because of his race and not for his pathetic performance as a head coach should have their head examined, especially considering that this university currently employs black head coaches in both men's and women's basketball, considered to be the #2 and #3 major college sports, respectively, and also employed Jesse Evans and attempted to replace him with another minority candidate in Glen Cyprien. Discrimination when it comes to hiring and firing isn't an issue with this school, our issue is what the school does to support those employees once hired - white and black alike.

[NewsCopy]

Jerry Baldwin alleges racial discrimination led to firing after 2001 season A jury has awarded a former UL head football coach $2 million in a lawsuit that claimed the university fired him because he was black. Late Thursday, a jury in the 19th Judicial District in Baton Rouge came back with a judgment in favor of former head coach Jerry Baldwin. Baldwin coached for UL from 1999 to 2001 until he was fired for poor performance, but the former coach filed suit against the school and the UL Board of Supervisors in 2002. UL attorney Steve Oats confirmed the verdict. The rest of the story Kyle Jackson kjackson@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

Jurors awarded a fired University of Louisiana at Lafayette head football coach $2 million in damages late Thursday, finding that university officials breached his contract and inflicted emotional distress through negligence. Jurors also determined that former coach Jerry Baldwin’s race played a role in his firing, but was not the sole reason for his losing his job. Baldwin was the first black head football coach at a major Louisiana university. The six white jurors and six black jurors took almost 10 hours to work their way through a complicated verdict form. The award breakdown is $500,000 for general damages, including emotional distress; $600,000 for past lost wages; $900,000 for future lost wages, and $2,676 for special damages. Jurors voted 10-2 on the amount of damages. Baldwin’s attorney G. Karl Bernard said his client is appreciative he had the opportunity to air his grievances. “There is no substitute for victory,” said. ULL attorney Steve Oats said the verdict is not supported by evidence presented at trial. Oats said he and university officials will evaluate the verdict and determine how to proceed with the case. “It is clear Jerry Baldwin was not terminated because of his race,” Oats said. “Jerry Baldwin was terminated over his tenure. The team had a record of 6-27 and attendance was terrible. The program was not going in the right direction.” The rest of the story By ADRIAN ANGELETTE Advocate staff writer

[UL_Cajuns]

Man this ____es me off. I wish I could pull the race card everytime something doesn't go my way.

No wait I probably wouldn't do it anyway, cause I am not that kind of person.

[Hammer58]

Discrimination when it comes to hiring and firing isn't an issue with this school, our issue is what the school does to support those employees once hired - white and black alike. _

This school has a history of not properly supporting (athletics to the fans satisfaction) any football coach of any race. So Baldwin was no diferent than anyone else. And one of his claims seems to be the fact that he didn't have a coaches show. Isn't that outside of the university's control? I believe (and BOP can correct me if I am wrong) that a Coach's show is a separate contract between the Coach and the media outlets. And finally, while Jerry now claims he wasn't given the job to market the program he is the same guy who publicly stated that it was not his job to put fans in the stands. This verdict is a joke.

[CajunGuru]

Hammer,it's part of the legacy Doc has left us with. Remember, Baldwin is his hire and not Nelson S. decision.

[DaddyCajun]

Baldwin is!!!!!! A preacher that(not that there was ANY wrong doing) teaches his congregation to NOT turn the other cheek!!! What a holy man!!!

Baton Rouge where Baldwin coached and case was held!
Baton Rouge where Southern and LSU have been at it for years(the great divide)!!
Baton Rouge the great ULL sayers, USL callers, Lafayette turn there noses to us HATERS(not all but they are out there in numbers)

For those who served on a jury before, it is ALL too common for there to be a few strong personalities. If these personalities can get the just of either of the attourneys then they can swing the others in the jury.

Oates if he does not win the appeal would never take on a case for me I can assure you of this.

DaddyCajun

This WILL be appealed, and there will be NO Jury who can be swayed by emotion or feelings.

[BirdofParadise]

Let me try and shed some light on some things.

This suit was originally thrown out by the same judge who heard this case. On appeal, it was reinstated to state court with the appeals court stating that a jury should hear it.

The jury was made up of six men and six women, six white and six black.

The jury, for the most part, knew nothing about sports.

There's no question that emotion, not facts, played the biggest role in the jury's decision. They found the University liable for breach of contract as well as racial discrimination.

Nelson was named personally in the lawsuit as well and as a result, is personally liable.

When you appeal something like this, only the facts mean anything. I am confident that JB will never see this kind of money.

[AstroCajun]

_ Let me try and shed some light on some things.

This suit was originally thrown out by the same judge who heard this case. On appeal, it was reinstated to state court with the appeals court stating that a jury should hear it.

The jury was made up of six men and six women, six white and six black.

The jury, for the most part, knew nothing about sports.

There's no question that emotion, not facts, played the biggest role in the jury's decision. They found the University liable for breach of contract as well as racial discrimination.

Nelson was named personally in the lawsuit as well and as a result, is personally liable.

When you appeal something like this, only the facts mean anything. I am confident that JB will never see this kind of money. _

If the decision is upheld, NS is personally at risk.

The University's assets are immune from seizure because it is a state agency. In other words, the typical debt collection tactics that you would employ to enforce a judgment are useless against the State.

There is little Baldwin can do to compel the university to pay up.