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Court Rules In Favor Of Beverly Hills Unified School District, Overturns $23M Karen Christiansen Verdict

May 10, 2018Media Mention
Beverly Hills Courier

Beverly Hills Unified School District is finally off the hook in its troubled years-long legal battle against former BHUSD facilities chief Karen Christiansen, who until this morning was owed in excess of $23 million by the school district.

In a 21-page decision, filed today by the Court of Appeal of the State of California Second Appellate District Division Six, the court reversed the trial decision that found the district to be liable for having fired Christiansen after she used her district role to enter into a sole-sourced contract with a company she founded, Strategic Concepts LLC.

The decision states: “We reverse. Section 1090 applies to independent contractors. The trial court misinterpreted section 1090 and erred in not instructing on the competitive bidding statutes. The contract also limits the LLC’s damages.” 

Following a hearing with the Court of Appeals in February in the case of Strategic Concepts LLC v. Beverly Hills Unified School, BHUSD attorney Fred A. Fenster of Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP told the Courier that he strongly believed the panel had clearly understood that Christiansen’s actions had violated the purpose of Gov. Code Section 1090.