Federal Jury Awards Former Housing Authority Director $1 Million Settlement

A Southern District of New York Federal court jury verdict ruled in favor of former Peekskill Housing Authority Director Gheevarghese Thankachan and awarded him a $1 million settlement last week. After a week and a half long trial, the jury found that Thankachan had been fired illegally from his position as the Director of the Peekskill Housing Authority (PHA) for racial and political reasons. Their ruling came at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 23, the day before Thanksgiving.

“We are very grateful for the verdict,” said Thankachan’s lawyer Christopher Watkins of Sussman and Watkins law firm in Goshen, New York. “We believe they did deliver justice in this case in a powerful and meaningful way.”

Thankachan’s lawsuit claims that he was fired from his position as PHA Director in 2007 without justification and that its then-acting Board Chairwoman Leesther Brown was instrumental in his termination.

The suit claims that Brown discriminated against Thankachan based on his national origins being from India and his perceived affiliation with the Democratic Party, and convinced other PHA board members to remove him without legitimate reasons. The jury found that Thankachan was discriminated against based on his race and had been unlawfully terminated.

Thankachan had served as the head of the authority from 2003 until 2007 when he was first suspended and then fired. Thankachan started at the Authority as an account clerk then worked his way through law school, became the PHA attorney and was then appointed as housing director in 2003 when its former head William Shands died. 

"I think this verdict says a lot about the politics surrounding the Peekskill Housing Authority, then and now, and proof that we were right in standing up for Thankachan," said Mt. Vernon activist Darrell Davis, who led a rally in support of Thankachan after his suspension and who is currently the current acting Housing Authority Director Harold Phipps. Phipps contract was not renewed this year, but he remains at the head of the authority until a replacement is found.

In addition to the $1 million in compensatory damages, the jury also awarded punitive damages against Brown personally in the amount of $250.