By Peter Kranenburg
Attorneys representing BYU questioned Richard Thwaits on Tuesday in the ongoing jury trial of a wrongful termination lawsuit he brought against the school.
BYU fired Thwaits in January 2002 after an internal investigation regarding alleged misconduct.
BYU attorney Rob Clark spent most of his time establishing Thwaits? financial situation after being fired by BYU. Thwaits has testified his termination from the school sent him into financial ruin, preventing him from getting another job and forcing his family to sell their home.
Clark asked Thwaits about entries made on his tax returns between 2001 and 2004. On tax forms designed to indicate profit or loss from business, Thwaits deducted thousands of dollars for legal expenses.
Thwaits testified some of the $55,000 deducted between 2001 and 2003 went towards legal costs related to his no-contest plea. Criminal proceedings in that case finished in 2003 when Thwaits completed his 18-month probation related to his plea in abeyance. When asked about what the nearly $27,000 he deducted for legal expenses in 2004 was used for, he said he did not know.
Clark asked Thwaits if he understood that those types of deductions reduced the amount of taxes he paid and needed to be a direct expense with his veterinary business in order to be legal, and Thwaits said he did. Federal law states citizens may be prosecuted for perjury when providing false information on tax return forms. Thwaits testified he turned all his financial information over to his accountant and he did not know exactly how he came up with those figures.
Clark then went on to talk about the sale of Thwaits? home in April 2002. Thwaits previously testified he sold the home because he needed cash. Clark asked when the home went on the market and Thwaits testified he put it on the market before losing his job at BYU.
Clark presented the jury with the settlement on the sale of Thwaits house. He sold the house to his daughter and son-in-law, and only received $5300 cash for the sale. Clark also pointed out Thwaits had given $44,000 of equity in the home as a gift to his children when they bought the house. Thwaits said he had nothing to do with the sale of his home. He said his wife has experience in real estate and took care of it.
Clark also asked him about a potential job opportunity with a university in California, which he turned down in October 2003. He said he was unable to take the job because of time constraints the university was placing on him. At the time his family was taking care of his sick mother-in-law. Clark said university officials called to offer him the job but he refused, while Thwaits said it was not an official offer.
?No, they called because they wanted to know if I was still interested,? Thwaits said. ?They wanted to talk about some concerns they had. No, I never received an official offer.?
Thwaits lawsuit seeks damages that, if awarded, could amount to $1 million. The trial continues Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.