OAKLAND — An Alameda County judge accused Oakland Councilwoman Desley Brooks of repeatedly lying under oath during a trial triggered by a lawsuit from Elaine Brown, according to court records filed Thursday.
Judge Paul D. Herbert agreed with jurors who did not believe Brooks was telling the truth while testifying and showed no remorse for shoving Brown during a heated argument, he wrote in an order.
In the same order, Herbert also denied the city of Oakland’s request for a new trial, but only if the former Black Panther leader agrees to significantly reduce the amounts a jury awarded her in damages to $1.2 million against the city and $75,000 against Brooks.
A jury earlier ruled the city must pay $3.75 million and Brooks $550,000 in punitive damages after deciding the councilwoman committed elder abuse against Brown, now 75. Brown had sued, saying she was injured after Brooks shoved her inside a Jack London Square restaurant in 2015.
Herbert wrote the jury in a December trial that he was “trying to send a message” to Brooks because her testimony contradicted that of other witnesses. After a punitive damages hearing in January, two jurors called Brooks a “bully.” Brooks did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
“Having witnessed Ms. Brooks’ testimony, the court agrees with the jury’s conclusion that Ms. Brooks testified falsely many times under oath about the key events pertinent to determining whether Ms. Brooks had any reasonable basis whatsoever to claim lawful self-defense,” Herbert wrote. “Ms. Brooks’ testimony was fundamentally in conflict with the testimony of all the other percipient witnesses (including the third-party witnesses who were friends of Ms. Brooks).
“Likewise, the court agrees that Ms. Brooks exhibited no genuine remorse for her conduct toward Ms. Brown. The jury could properly conclude that by testifying falsely about the events under oath, Ms. Brooks was not truly remorseful for her disgraceful conduct,” the judge said.
However, Herbert said the jury’s decision on monetary damages was not based on evidence.
The judge gave Brown and her attorney, Charles Bonner, until May 8 to agree to the lower compensation in a court filing. Bonner could not be reached for comment.
A spokesman for the Oakland City Attorney’s Office declined to comment because the case is not over.
Earlier this month, a former legislative aide to Brooks filed a claim with the city against her, alleging verbal and physical abuse. In the detailed 24-page claim — a precursor to a lawsuit — Sidney Wilson said Brooks “maintained a toxic work environment that no reasonable person would tolerate, suffer and endure.”