Judge backs rehiring of prof

Tuesday, March 26, 2002 | 9:15 a.m.

A tenured professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas who for nearly a decade has fought to get his job back after twice being fired will be returning to work soon.

District Judge Mark Gibbons said Monday that he agrees with a jury that in February decided that UNLV administrators acted in bad faith when they fired Richard Sutton. The jury also ruled that the university should hire him back.

The jury decided Feb. 12 that UNLV breached its contract with Sutton and awarded him $137,075 in back pay and $33,750 in compensatory damages for pain and suffering.

The jury also found that Sutton should be reinstated to his job in the Department of Public Administration.

Sutton had been fired once in 1993 but was reinstated after he sued. He was given a new contract and fired again in 1999, his attorney said, after the university relied on the same evidence -- two negative performance reviews.

UNLV attorneys said they may appeal the verdict.

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