Three Ex-County Lawyers Departed with Payouts

Three top attorneys who left the County Counsel’s Office earlier this month each walked away with a $239,392 payout. 

The county payments to veteran attorneys Erica Cortez, Caitlin Rae and Heidi Skinner covered nine months of their county salaries and half of those amounts addressed “alleged personal physical injuries and pain and suffering,” according to agreements obtained by Voice of San Diego after a public records request. 

The virtually identical agreements do not detail their allegations.  The attorneys each signed their deals in mid-December and Jan. 2, the date that the county says all three voluntarily resigned. 

The three high-level departures coincided with the selection of a new lead county counsel serving the Board of Supervisors and county staff. Damon Brown, who previously served as a special assistant state attorney general, will take over the office on Jan. 26. 

Cortez, Rae and Skinner previously served as the top deputies to now-former county counsel Claudia Silva and more recently to acting County Counsel David Smith. Silva also received a large payout from the county after an abrupt retirement in July. 

County spokesperson Tammy Glenn declined to elaborate on the “personal physical injuries” described in the agreements with the three former top county lawyers.  

“While the county cannot discuss the details of personnel matters, there were no formal claims filed, and the language in the separation agreements is not uncommon,” Glenn wrote in an email. “As noted in the agreements, the parties understand and acknowledge it is not an admission of liability.” 

When asked to explain the reasoning for payments given the roughly $718,000 expense for taxpayers, Glenn said the county has “discretion” to offer severance and that it “may be provided when appropriate.” 

The agreements stated that Cortez, Rae and Skinner would stop reporting to their county jobs in mid-December and began using their remaining county leave. They also describe the agreements as confidential and bar both the county and former officials from disparaging one another publicly. The county decided, however, that the confidentiality clauses didn’t keep the agreements from being released under the California Public Records Act. 

Like Glenn, veteran employment attorney Josh Gruenberg described the agreements as “very garden variety.” 

“There’s nothing unusual about it,” Gruenberg said. “You may never get to the reason these people were leaving because they clearly want to keep it confidential.” 

Dan Gilleon, another longtime employment attorney, also emphasized the lack of clarity and all parties’ likely desire to keep the matter private.  

Gilleon seized on what he described as “personal injury” verbiage in the agreements. Unlike most employment-related settlements, he said physical injury payouts often aren’t taxable and employees typically must pursue workers’ compensation for job-related physical injuries.  

“In California, employees cannot sue their employers for job-related physical injuries,” Gilleon said. “Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy.” 

The agreements with the three former county lawyers note that half of the roughly $239,392 payment each is set to receive will be subject to “all appropriate” taxes while there is no mention of taxes on the half of the payouts set to address the “alleged personal physical injuries and pain and suffering.” 

“These agreements include personal injury language without offering any explanation of the nature or extent of the alleged injuries,” Gilleon said. “When you couple that with the fact that workplace injuries are almost always handled through workers’ compensation, the conclusion is hard to avoid: this structure appears designed to conceal something from the public.” 

Superior Court records show Skinner and the county in 2024 successfully argued for a restraining order against a former Registrar of Voters employee who had allegedly threatened and harassed county staff. 

In an August 2024 declaration, Skinner described constant voicemails and emails from former county staffer Justin James Castro and repeated clashes with him. Skinner wrote that Castro had often appeared as she came out of the county’s garage and that she started coming to work later to avoid him. She also noted that Silva, then the county counsel, had stopped having her staff attend Board of Supervisors meetings. 

“Ms. Silva does not want people from her office in the chambers because of Castro and other attendees whose behavior has gotten out of control,” Skinner wrote. 

Cortez and Rae were not mentioned in Skinner’s declaration. 

It’s unclear if dealings with Castro may have contributed to the apparent “pain and suffering” described in the agreements.  

Glenn has repeatedly emphasized that the three attorneys left their jobs voluntarily. 

Cortez, Rae and Skinner did not respond to requests for comment from Voice.  

London Meservy, an attorney representing all three ex-county lawyers, also didn’t respond to messages. 

“The employees made the decision to move on from county service,” Glenn wrote. “We are grateful for the service and dedication and wish them the best in their next chapter.” 

Cortez has since started work as senior counsel in national firm Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete’s San Diego office. 

Now, Glenn wrote, Brown will have a chance to fill key vacancies after he becomes the county’s top lawyer later this month. 

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