Former Employee, Alumnus Awarded Nearly $300,000

John Brian Lojko, who graduated with honors from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1997, was awarded $288,000 in a lawsuit claiming wrongful dismissal from his job at the school. He had been working about four months as the head of an applied research engineering program at the Daytona campus.

Lojko held his firing in 2007 was due to his complaints made to superiors about work safety, software copyright, and hangar access during his brief tenure at the school. The jury agreed, and awarded Lojko $48,000 in lost wages and $240,000 in other damages.

Now, the Daytona News-Journal reports that ERAU is seeking to have the decision vacated and a new trial because it says the award it too much, and that some of the jurors may not have been qualified for jury duty. Attorney Gregory Snell, who represented ERAU in the case, recently said in court filings that one juror had been found guilty of impersonating a law enforcement officer 13 years ago in Colorado. He also said some of the jurors discussed the case outside the jury room, expressing their leanings in the case to one another. He also said that the award for "emotional distress" was too high.

Lojko's lawyer said through a spokesperson that he would not comment while the case was still pending.

Circuit Judge William Parsons is considering the post-trial motions.

FMI: www.erau.edu, www.5dca.org