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Fired bus cleaner wins $150,000 award

Jim Gehrz, Star Tribune

Jeanne Zapata, 51, describes her former work environment as “totally evil.” She had trouble finding a lawyer she was happy with and decided to represent herself.

A jury ruled that Jeanne Zapata, of Lino Lakes, who served as her own attorney and sued the Met Council over an alleged assault, deserves $150,000 in damages.

By JIM FOTI, Star Tribune

Last update: September 25, 2008 - 11:56 PM

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It's a rule of thumb in the court system: Being your own attorney is a path to defeat.

Jeanne Zapata, of Lino Lakes, appears to be an exception to that rule.

The 51-year-old fired bus cleaner is representing herself in Hennepin County District Court in a suit against the Metropolitan Council, which operates Metro Transit. Last week a jury ruled that she deserves $150,000 in damages.

"It's not unknown that people come into court representing themselves, but it's very unusual that they can win," said Joseph Daly, a Hamline law professor who has worked on employment issues and has served as an arbitrator.

The case isn't quite over -- more memorandums need to be filed, and Judge Tony Leung has months to finalize the verdict. But so far, Zapata has defied the odds in making her own case.

Nancy Peters, a spokeswoman for Hennepin courts, said Thursday that the $150,000 verdict stemmed from a supervisor's alleged assault on Zapata, and that two other claims -- regarding a hostile work environment and reprisal -- were still outstanding.

Bonnie Kollodge, a spokeswoman for the Met Council, said the agency wasn't in a position to comment because the case is ongoing.

"When you come into a trial, it's like civilized warfare, and you're going against a trained warrior," Daly said, noting that even he has hired a lawyer to represent him in a court case. But jurors are supposed to listen to the facts, "and this lady probably had some pretty good facts."

Going it alone

Zapata was an overnight cleaner for Metro Transit for 10 years. She most recently worked at the East Metro garage near downtown St. Paul.

Her earlier dealings with lawyers -- when her daughter was assaulted, after her father's death -- left her frustrated. After she lost her job, she said, she had trouble finding a firm willing to take on the Met Council. She was unhappy with the lawyers who did take the case.

"I actually had to let them go," she said.

Zapata says she never attended college and only learned how to use a computer in the past couple of years. "It takes me five times longer than anybody else to type something up," she said.

After she was fired in late 2006, "I just started reading every book I could on discrimination stuff." She also bought or borrowed books on representing yourself in court.

She describes her former workplace as "totally evil," and the civil complaint she filed alleges unequal treatment and numerous crude behaviors among her former co-workers. She alleges she was told she was fired for moving a security camera away from a women's restroom, interfering with an investigation, and being insubordinate and disruptive.

Losing the job she had held for a decade -- and the court fight -- have taken a toll on her physically and emotionally, she said. "I've lost about 40 pounds."

Even so, she's considering asking for a new trial. There's a lot that the jury wasn't allowed to hear about, she said, and she knows she would be better prepared next time.

"I want a new trial because I want to do things right that I made a mistake at before," she said. "I should've objected to [the Met Council's] evidence all along, but I didn't want the jury to think that I had anything to fear."

Noting that six-figure awards are hard to come by, Daly cautioned against putting too much hope in the idea of a retrial.

"This is where she might need the advice of a lawyer," he said.

Jim Foti • 612-673-4491

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