BY DAVE PRICE
Daily Post Editor
This isn’t widely known, but San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus may be facing more consequences than what meets the eye.
It’s expected that the county Board of Supervisors will fire her next month, after more than 80% of voters agreed to change the county charter to allow the supervisors to fire her. It’s no secret that District Attorney Steve Wagstaff is investigating the many allegations against her.
And the civil suits against her and the county are piling up.
But here’s something you may not know. If those suits go to trial, and the jury awards a large amount to the plaintiff, the Board of Supevisors can elect not to pay any punitive damages and stick the bill to Corpus. The San Mateo County Counsel’s office, the lawyers for the supervisors, have confirmed that to the Daily Post.
Under the law, the Supervisors can decline to pay the punitive damages because they would argue, that her actions were outside the law. Therefore, she would have to pay the punitive damages.
What are punitive damages? Frequently in civil suits, a jury will award actual damages and then punitive damages. Actual damages are relatively small and they cover exactly what the plaintiff lost because of the wrongful actions of the defendant. Punitive damages, on the other hand, are intended to punish a defendant for egregious misconduct and deter similar behavior in the future.
The allegations
Corpus has been accused of jailing the head of the deputies union because he spoke out against her. She’s accused of firing or intimidating other employees, too. An independent investigation found that she created a paid, high-level position for her alleged boyfriend, realtor Victor Aenlle. The investigation also alleged that she used homophobic and racist slurs and frequently lied. While she denies these allegations, the county is receiving claims and lawsuits from employees who say otherwise.
When you read in the paper that a corporation has lost a lawsuit and will have to pay a huge sum, maybe a billion dollars, the actual damages in the case will be small — maybe a couple of hundred thousand. Most of the award will be for punitive damages.
Large punitive damage awards are often overturned on appeal, but even smaller awards can still can be devastating to an individual defendant. And if fraud is involved, they’re not dischargable through bankruptcy.
Collections
It’s possible the lawyers for the plaintiff will try to collect damages by garnishing her wages or seizing her assets, including her pension. If she owns a home, mortgaged or not, the lawyers can slap a lien on it, and then sell it at foreclosure.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers are incentivized to collect because they typically work on a contingent fee basis, meaning they get a percentage of whatever a defendant pays in the case. Often it’s 25% or even 33.3%.
What’s ahead for Corpus? A humiliating hearing where the supervisors will hear evidence of why she should be fired. Then she’ll be shown the door. She’ll fire off a few lawsuits that will go nowhere. Possibly, she’ll be hit with criminal charges that could result in prison time.
After that, I don’t know what she’ll do for a job. I doubt anybody in law enforcement would hire her. It’s unknown what skills she possesses to make her employable outside of law enforcement.
If she lands a job, her wages could be garnished to pay multimillion-dollar punitive damage awards. She’s single and has two kids to raise. And will Victor Aenlle stick around?
No wonder she’s determined to fight like hell.
Editor Dave Price’s column appears on Mondays.
She is not even qualified to be a law-enforcement officer as she has no experience in that area. She barely completed a field training Program and then worked soft, cushy jobs as a deputy and as she promoted. She is known to panic and overreact in stressful situations. If you watch the interview, she attempted to give after the half Moon Bay mass shooting incident, she was barely able to speak. Captain Eamon Allen saved her bacon. These are some of the many reasons no one has any respect for her.
Furthermore, if she were to face prosecution or be terminated POST would decertify her. That is almost guaranteed!
If Victor gets prosecuted as well, my bet is he rolls over on her the first chance he gets to receive consideration in his case.
Her most likely job qualification is selling popsicles from a bicycle with a cooler on it on Middlefield Rd. She is going to have to sling a lot of popsicles to pay off these considerable lawsuits.
At least two of the claims this week week damages from the county and can be denied leaving 15 million at least from Corpus, Aenlle and now Parea. Monaghan’s current claim alone can exceed $5-10-20 million depending on how you read the open amount. Corpus and Aenlle have some serious issues coming ! Between the county manager, assistant sheriff and Tapia, the Acosta brothers, Phillips and so on. The County Pensions can be drained leaving the Sheriff with nothing potentially for her negligence to not resign and continue to publicly defame personnel and retaliate. Parea is now part of this mess.
Maybe the realtor should have read some policy manuals and passed some law enforcement training. Maybe the sheriff should explain why she hired an unqualified realtor with no updated background to give carte Blanche to county personal files and maybe parea will have to explain why he is there terrorizing staff also without a standard background check(remember hsiung got pushed out parea came in within a week )
Should these 3 have guns and county access? I think no, being forced out will be a ugly outcome and one the three of them just walked into. You’re the sheriff you were elected, but not above the law. The multiple laws broken and civil rights violations. Who’s believing there is some coup now ?
As usual, great summary Dave! Things get crazier by the day and yet this sick, narcissistic fool of a sheriff just doesn’t get it. She’ll be tossed out like yesterday’s garbage soon enough. What she has done will follow her for many years to come, both personally and financially. I for one couldn’t be happier to she her face the consequences of her wrongful and hurtful actions.
Wow Dave, we agree again. That’s 2. Great write up.
In my opinion she should pleads her case to the Board of Supervisors and throw her fate to the majority asking for nothing in return.Then slowly disappear into obscurity never to be seen again.It would be the easiest way for her to get on with whatever life she can muster out of the carnage.
Victor wants to ruin her for some reason and she believes EVERY word out of his disqualified mouth
The back story dates back to 1993 when Don Horsely became the Sheriff. There are conflicts of interests, as related with DA Steve Wagstaffe, BOS JackieSpeier and Ray Mueller,CEO Mike Callagy, and retired judge Doris Cordell. San Mateo County should petition for federal oversight or receivership over the Sheriff Department and Jails immediately. It never works to coverup constitutional and human rights violations. That is what happened since the late BOS #DonHorsley was notified 4/2022 regarding The People v Mohammad Haroon Ali. Advisement submitted to CGJ et al 11/2024.
Supervisor Mueller predicted that “the County will be paying for all of this for decades”. Apparently, so will Christina, Victor, and Dan. Oh the Schadenfreud! Victor had it made;, easy job, rich wife, lots of toys, a badge and a gun… The cost of defending all of these lawsuits alone will add up to crippling figures. He’s lost his job, she will soon lose hers, and her successor will fire Perera. All them will spend all of their time in depositions and Court. After losing their jobs, they will lose their bank accounts, homes, and pensions to all of this litigation. As Flounder said in “Animal House”, “THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT!”
BTW Mathew Fox – don’t assume that you are in the clear. You did the right thing by quitting, but it was a day late and a dollar short. You too could still be on the hook in regards to the Tapia arrest…