A California jury on Wednesday awarded $34.7 million to Jesus “Jesse” Fonseca, a former Walmart truck driver, after determining that the company defamed him by falsely accusing him of breaching its integrity rules while on medical leave.
Tribune Online reports that the verdict, delivered by the San Bernardino County Superior Court, includes $25 million in punitive damages and $9.7 million in compensatory damages.
Fonseca, who had worked at Walmart for 14 years and once represented the company in a national trucking campaign, was injured on the job in 2017 and placed on workers’ compensation leave. Doctors restricted him from driving large vehicles or performing strenuous activities. Fonseca informed Walmart’s workers’ compensation administrator of his plans for a family camping trip in an RV and a cruise for his wedding anniversary, but the company initiated an investigation.
Surveillance footage showed Fonseca driving the RV and bending, activities Walmart deemed outside his medical restrictions. Although the company’s internal fraud investigator found his explanations credible and concluded there was no evidence of intentional dishonesty, Walmart’s ethics department overruled these findings. Fonseca was terminated for allegedly violating the company’s integrity policy.
Fonseca, however, filed a lawsuit in 2019, accusing Walmart of defamation and irreparably damaging his reputation and livelihood and has now been awarded $34.7m in a defamation suit against the company.
In this article, Tribune Online takes a look at 10 things to know about the truck driver.
1. Full Name
His full name is Jesus “Jesse” Fonseca and has worked for Walmart for 14 years before the incident that led to the lawsuit.
2. The Incident
Fonseca was injured in a highway accident in June 2017 when another semi-truck slammed into his Walmart semi-truck from behind during his shift for the company. Following the accident, he received medical restrictions on his work duties.
3. Medical Restrictions
His work restrictions included limitations on pushing, pulling, and lifting over 5-10 pounds, and he was prohibited from commercial driving.
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4. Allegations of Fraud
Walmart accused Fonseca of committing “gross misconduct” and violating the company’s integrity rules after he drove a recreational vehicle for personal use, which the company interpreted as a violation of his medical restrictions.
5. Termination of employment
Fonseca was ultimately fired by Walmart, which claimed he had violated its code of ethics. He contended that he did not understand that his restrictions applied to personal driving, especially since he drove himself to medical appointments.
6. Legal Action
He filed a lawsuit in 2019, alleging that Walmart had defamed him by publicly accusing him of fraud and failing to accommodate his medical needs.
7. Investigation Findings
According to David M. deRubertis, an attorney for Fonseca, the evidence in the trial allegedly “showed that Walmart’s defamation of Jesse was part of a broader scheme to use false accusations to force injured truckers back to work prematurely or, if not, terminate them so that Walmart can cut down workers’ compensation costs.”
8. Jury Verdict
A jury in San Bernardino, California, on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 awarded Fonseca $9.7 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages, concluding that Walmart acted with malice and failed to exercise reasonable care in its statements about him
9. Walmart’s Response
Following the verdict, Walmart announced its intention to pursue all available remedies, arguing that the jury’s decision did not reflect the facts of the case.
10. Impact on Career
Fonseca claimed that the ordeal caused him significant harm to his professional reputation and career prospects, as the defamation affected his ability to find work in the industry.
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