LAKE COUNTY – The county is moving forward with an appeal of a September 2007 federal court ruling awarding a former county employee a $1.7 million judgment.

On Monday, attorneys Mark. A Jones and Kristen K. Preston, acting on behalf of Lake County, filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Ninth District in the case of former correctional officer Sharon Leuzinger.

Leuzinger, 56, of Lucerne, won the ruling against the county last fall after a jury found she had been wrongfully terminated due to a disability that resulted from an on-the-job injury.

In February US District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong – who presided at Leuzinger's September trial – denied the county's motions for a new trial or setting aside the verdict, as Lake County News has reported.

After that decision, Jones told Lake County News that the county was considering moving forward with the appeal, saying that Leuzinger's verdict lacked an evidentiary basis.

Leuzinger's legal team, led by Ukiah-based attorney Susan Sher, also is seeking $900,000 in legal fees.

The appeal to the Ninth Circuit, if the case is accepted, could take a few more years, Jones previously told Lake County News.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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