Date: 04-15-1999

Case Style: Allen Hart and Ernie Williams v. Wichita County, Texas

Case Number: 2-97-366-CV

Judge: Joseph H. Hart

Court: 201st District Court, Travis County, Texas

Plaintiff's Attorney: R. John Cullar of Mills, Millar & Cullar, L.L.P., Waco, Texas

Defendant's Attorney: Roger Townsend of Hogan, Dubose & Townsend, L.L.P., Houston, Texas; Steve Briley of Banner, Briley & White, Wichita Falls, Texas; and H. Dustin Fillmore of The Fillmore Law Firm, P.C., Houston, Texas

Description: Whistleblower Lawsuit - Hart and Williams were both employed as deputy sheriff's in the Wichita County Sheriff's Department ("WCSD") since January 1977. The WCSD requires bail bondsmen to post security to protect the County in the event of a bond forfeiture. For the past 20 years or more, bondsmen have been allowed to meet this requirement by filing a deed of property with the WCSD. The deeds were usually kept in the desk or files of Marilyn Fulton, office manager for the WCSD. Fulton was in charge of bail bonds and had served as the sheriff's representative on the Bail Bond Board, which licenses bondsmen, since its inception in 1982.

In 1986, the then-sheriff resigned, and Hart and Williams both took active roles in supporting the appointment of Tom Callahan as the new sheriff. Callahan was appointed, and Williams' wife later served as Callahan's campaign treasurer during his first election for sheriff in 1988. Sheriff Callahan promoted Williams to sergeant in the patrol division in 1986. In 1988, Sheriff Callahan appointed then-Captain Hart to the newly created position of major. In his new position, Hart was subordinate only to Sheriff Callahan and the chief deputy and was responsible for all the day-to-day operations of the WCSD, including all operational decisions and management of the departments $3.5 million-per-year budget. Before February 1989, neither Hart nor Williams had ever experienced any form of disciplinary action related to their employment in the WCSD.

In March 1987, Sheriff Callahan requested updated security from bondsmen Roger Crampton, Barbara Crampton, Holly Crampton Estrada, and Robert Estrada. They signed a deed transferring specific real property owned by Roger Crampton and Barbara Crampton to "Thomas J. Callahan, Sheriff of Wichita County, Texas, and his successors in office. . . ."

In May 1988, a judgment for about $7,300 was rendered in Young County against Barbara Crampton, Holly Crampton Estrada, Robert Estrada, and the partnership of Crampton, Crampton & Estrada, in favor of Graham National Bank. The judgment was abstracted and recorded in Wichita County in July 1988. A writ of execution was issued and sent to the WCSD. Before the judgment could be satisfied, two of the judgment debtors, Holly Crampton Estrada and Robert Estrada, filed for bankruptcy, which stayed execution on the entire judgment. The first writ of execution was then returned nulla bona.

About six weeks after the Estradas filed for bankruptcy, Marilyn Fulton filed the deed signed by Roger Crampton, Barbara Crampton, Holly Crampton Estrada, and Robert Estrada that had been in the WCSD's possession since March 1987. Fulton wanted all potential creditors of the Cramptons and Estradas to have notice that the real property already belonged to Wichita County.

In February 1989, the bankruptcy stay was lifted only as to Barbara Crampton. Then a second writ of execution was issued solely against her. On February 22, 1989, Sgt. Melvin Scott, head of the WCSD'S civil process division, told Hart that he had "lost all respect for the Sheriff," because the filed deed conveying the property to the Sheriff had made the property unavailable for levy under the second writ of execution.

The next day, Hart learned that a deputy was selling handguns that had been confiscated by the WCSD's directly to a pawnbroker without the formality of a sheriff's sale. The deputy told Hart that Sheriff Callahan had instructed him to sell the guns that way. Hart immediately stopped the sale.

On February 24, 1989, Sheriff Callahan canceled all of Hart's authority over the operations and personnel of the WCSD, and reassigned Hart as the chief deputy's assistant.[fn2] However, Hart suffered no loss in pay and he remained at the rank of major.

On March 28, 1989, Barbara Crampton satisfied Graham National Bank's judgment in full by cashier's checks. About the same time, Hart and Williams reported to the chief investigator of the Wichita County District Attorney's Office, Mike Cross, that they believed that the WCSD had violated the law by deeding the real property to the sheriff. Cross began an investigation based on Harts and Williams' report. On April 13, 1989, the second writ of execution was returned bearing a notation that the judgment had been paid in full.

On April 16, 1989, Williams reported to the FBI that he suspected federal crimes involving the WCSD office and tax liens. On April 21, Hart and Williams were demoted for refusing to allow two female deputies to take part in a training exercise. Three days later, Hart and Williams went secretly to Young County to inspect the court records of the $7,300 judgment against the Cramptons and Estradas.

On May 1, 1989, Cross questioned Sheriff Callahan, advising the him of his Miranda rights, and informed him of the investigation that was a result of Harts and Williams' report. This was the first time Sheriff Callahan knew of the investigation. After Cross interviewed Sheriff Callahan and Marilyn Fulton, he concluded that neither the sheriff nor Fulton had violated the law. Wichita County District Attorney Barry Macha learned of the investigation on May 1, 1989, and also concluded that there was no criminal conduct by the sheriff or Fulton.

Sheriff Callahan immediately fired Hart and Williams for conducting an unauthorized investigation against WCSD personnel. In letters to Hart and Williams dated May 10, 1989, Sheriff Callahan explained that the terminations were partly due to a history of problems that Hart and Williams had caused within the WCSD and that the improper investigations were the final straw.

Outcome: Judgment for plaintiffs for an unknown sum.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: Reversed by the Court of Appeals of Texas, Fort Worth. See: 989 S.W.2d (Tex. App. - Fort Worth 1999). The date shown above is the date of the appellate court decision and not the trial date.