AUSTIN — A federal jury has awarded former Hutto City Manager Odis Jones $12.5 million in his lawsuit against the municipality, Mayor Mike Snyder and former City Council member Tanner Rose.
“It has been a long and difficult three years for Mr. Jones and his family,” said Jones’ lawyer Holt Lackey in a prepared statement. “And we are grateful to the jury for their time and verdict and that justice has prevailed.”
The decision was delivered on March 2, after four days of testimony in United States District Court for the Western District of Texas – Austin Division. The court awarded Jones $8 million after affirming his allegation of racial discrimination and denying Jones his right to make and enforce contracts. Jones, who is Black, was awarded an additional $4.5 million in damages for the city failing to uphold the terms of his separation agreement.
“I want to thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ for keeping me, and I thank the jury for restoring my good name,” Jones said in a written statement.
George Hyde, Hutto’s litigation attorney, said the matter is far from decided.
“We are disappointed in the jury’s erroneous verdict and excessive award,” Hyde said. “There is absolutely no evidence that this case was ever about race. We are actively pursuing all means to get this corrected and cleared.”
Hutto leaders directed Hyde to seek a court order asking the trial court to reverse the jury’s decision. If the court decides new evidence exists to support a finding of liability, the city will ask the judge to reduce the award to $1.
According to a press release from the city, Jones’ lawyer admitted multiple times in court that Jones had no evidence of damages and was expecting a “nominal damages election,” $1, if liability was found. If at that point city leaders have not prevailed, the city will pursue justice through the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Jones was city manager from 2016-2019. He resigned in 2019 and was awarded $412,000 in salary and benefits along with other provisions through a legally binding separation agreement. The council rescinded the agreement in 2020, citing a lack of proper procedure, and Jones was asked to repay the money.
According to the lawsuit, the city agreed not to disparage or make derogatory comments against Jones. Also, according to the lawsuit, just three days after the agreement was legally executed, Snyder and Rose issued a joint press release containing disparaging and derogatory statements which were then published in regional news media.
In a Facebook post Friday, Snyder said race was never a factor.
“I did not act because of the city manager's race,” Snyder wrote. “I have never cared what race, sex, nationality and so on a person is, so long as they work to do what's right for Hutto. I also believe that the City Council acted the same way. In my mind, I trust the system and the process is still ongoing. So, I am still very confident that in the end, that the Hutto City Council will be shown to have acted in a manner which had nothing to do with race, but with the operation of the city and how this agreement was entered into.”
