$45.3-Million Jury Award Tainted, Lockheed Argues

Lawyers for Lockheed Corp. on Wednesday asked a judge to throw out a $45.3-million award to three whistle-blowing employees because one of the jurors had been convicted of a felony without telling the court.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury made the award last November. The jury found the three employees were unjustly fired for raising safety concerns. The ex-Lockheed employees claimed they were terminated for reporting flaws on the C-5B cargo plane that carried troops to the Persian Gulf.

The juror was convicted in Mississippi in 1962 of breaking into two school storage rooms and stealing phonographic equipment, said Lockheed attorney Gordon Krischer. Krischer said the $45.3-million award was tainted because juror Tresavan Owens failed to disclose the convictions.