After a seven-day trial, a San Diego federal jury delivered a unanimous defense verdict for the County of San Diego, bringing to close allegations of wrongful termination by the county's former Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Nicholas Yphantides. The verdict, which came down on December 15 as Quarles & Brady LLP reported, rejected Yphantides' claims that his March 2021 dismissal was rooted in discrimination due to a claimed disability.
"Dr. Nick," as Yphantides was known, claimed that the stresses of managing San Diego County's COVID-19 response unearthed a long-dormant bipolar disorder and that subsequent manic behaviors were to blame for his termination directly. Yphantides' legal team argued that these symptoms led him to act out in atypical ways and that the county failed to offer assistance or accommodations for his mental state properly. However, according to 10News, the county maintained that Yphantides' erratic actions were a matter of "poor judgment," implicating him in incidents deemed inappropriate for his role.
Dr. Yphantides's legal team cited the stress of his duties during the pandemic as a catalyst for his condition. "He spent years helping people in crisis, and when he was in crisis himself, he got blamed for it,'' Aaron Olsen, one representing the former CMO, told a federal jury, according to 10News. Despite these arguments, the jury sided with the county, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Yphantides' termination was due to discrimination or a failure to accommodate a disability under California law.
Among the accusations against Yphantides were his attempts to secure a COVID-19 vaccine appointment for a friend who did not meet the criteria and sending inappropriate messages to a mayor and other county employees. These actions, the county argued, were separate from any mental health concerns — a point to prove there was a lack of awareness of his bipolar disorder and, thus, no discriminatory sentiments behind their decision to fire Yphantides. "His attorneys say his disorder directly caused those incidents and that he did not have the self-awareness at the time to recognize how his behavior was affecting others," as reported by 10News.
The defense team, featuring Quarles & Brady partners Corrie Klekowski and George Howard and supported by Senior Deputy County Counsel Frances Rogers and Assistant County Counsel Erica Cortez, maintained that the firing was lawful. The jury's decision upholds that Yphantides, who had been the county's chief medical officer since 2009, was not dismissed because of discrimination but because of a series of choices unsuited to his position.
