RIDEOUT: Conduct ‘consistent with applicable law’

The abuse occurred in August 2013 when a nurse used soft restraints without a doctor’s orders to tie down and wash a patient suffering from acute psychosis.

In January 2016, Yuba County Judge Benjamin Wirtschafter found Hamilton guilty. He then dismissed the charge at her sentencing in November 2016.

In her employment agreement, Fremont-Rideout agreed to defend Hamilton against any claims arising from her employment but not for “matters involving her gross negligence, willful misconduct, or commission of criminal acts,” according to the suit.

A few days after Hamilton was charged, she asked Fremont-Rideout to pay for her defense.

“My conduct was, at all times, consistent with applicable law and in furtherance of the company’s best interests,” Hamilton wrote in a letter to the Fremont-Rideout board.

But if “an independent arbiter” found otherwise, Hamilton said she would “undertake to repay the legal fees and related costs advanced on my behalf by the company.”

Since Wirtschafter found Hamilton guilty, Fremont-Rideout “has demanded that Hamilton repay the fees and costs it advanced for her criminal defense,” the suit said, but “Hamilton has failed and refused to do so.”

Fremont-Rideout said it spent $403,607.37 on Hamilton’s defense.

The lawsuit included a copy of Hamilton’s employment contract with the hospital. Her base salary in 2012 was set at $465,000.

She was also entitled to other benefits, including a $500 monthly auto allowance, $500 monthly for gasoline, a cellphone, participation in a retirement program, an annual performance bonus and deferred compensation of $50,000 annually.

A few days after the criminal charge was filed, Fremont-Rideout announced Hamilton’s retirement.

Hamilton later sued FremontRideout, alleging she was forced out and did not receive her full compensation. That and a companion suit alleging wrongful termination have since been combined into one case in Yuba County Superior Court.