Former Lincoln University administrator Ken Ferguson won another round Tuesday in his age discrimination case against Lincoln University.
A three-judge panel of the state appeals court in Kansas City ruled Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem didn't make any mistakes requiring a reversal of a jury's verdict against LU.
The jury awarded Ferguson $104,901 in compensatory damages - just more than half what Ferguson asked for when he sued the university in 2013.
Ferguson was terminated in August 2012 after Curtis Creagh, then LU's vice president for Academics and Finance, recommended to then-President Carolyn Mahoney that Ferguson and one other employee be terminated as a way to save money in the tight budget expected in the 2012-13 school year.
Even though the final state budget Gov. Jay Nixon signed resulted in Lincoln's funds being cut only 1 percent, the appeals court noted Creagh sent a memo to Mahoney, recommending Ferguson's termination and stating the separation was due to an insufficient budget for the office of Governmental Affairs.
"When Ferguson was terminated, he was advised that his termination was the result of an 'insufficient budget' and 'budget constraints;' yet, Lincoln eliminated only two positions for a total savings of approximately $134,000 while, at the same time, issuing an across-the-board pay increase of 2 percent for a total cost of approximately $595,000," the appeals court noted.
Michael Berry, Ferguson's lawyer, told the appeals court during its hearing: "Missouri has a definition of discrimination - it is any unfair treatment."
Ferguson started at LU in 1977 and was 60 at the time of his termination.
He was eligible for state retirement because his age plus years of service were more than 80.
Berry argued during last year's trial and the appeals court hearing that Creagh's email recommending
the two terminations reminded Mahoney that Ferguson was eligible to retire at the time.
Lincoln's appeal included a complaint that Beetem should not have allowed the jury to hear comments made during a grievance committee hearing by member K.B. Paul, who said letting an older person go created less hardship than if a younger person were terminated.
LU's attorney, Kent Brown, argued the comments should have been disregarded because they were made after the initial termination decision, and Paul wasn't the final decision-maker.
But the appeals court ruled the timing did not render the comments irrelevant.
"Dr. Mahoney relied on the internal grievance panel's report and findings to uphold Ferguson's termination; she testified that, if the panel had found differently, she may have changed her decision. Thus, Dr. Paul was in a position to influence" her, the court held.
Lincoln's appeal also said Beetem was wrong to reject its motions for the court to order a different verdict, claiming Ferguson didn't make a case age was a contributing factor in the firing decision.
But the appeals ruling said, "There was sufficient evidence from which the jury could conclude that consideration of Ferguson's age was a contributing factor."
In a Tuesday evening news release, Berry said: "We made it abundantly clear that Lincoln was trying to balance its budget by discharging employees who had reached retirement age.
"The jury most likely did not believe Lincoln's stated reasons for discharging Mr. Ferguson."
Brown said he respects the decision of the court but is considering an appeal to the state Supreme Court.