Andrew Watters Signals Appeal After Sonoma Jury Holds Former Mayor Liable

Andrew Watters, the attorney for former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli, indicated that the legal fight could continue after a Sonoma County jury found Foppoli liable for sexually assaulting seven women and ordered him to pay more than $13 million.

The civil verdict, reached unanimously by all 12 jurors, followed more than a week of deliberations. Watters said pursuing a new trial was likely the next step for Foppoli. The jury also found the Santa Rosa chapter of Active 20-30, a civic organization connected to Foppoli, liable for one assault and ordered it to pay $2 million in compensatory damages. A later phase of the proceedings was scheduled to address possible punitive damages.

The case has significance beyond Windsor and Sonoma County for Bay Area residents, including people in San Francisco who followed the allegations through the San Francisco Chronicle’s 2021 investigation. That reporting helped bring claims against Foppoli into public view and documented allegations involving political campaigns, winery gatherings and civic events.

Seven plaintiffs sued under pseudonyms to protect their identities. Their allegations covered conduct between 2001 and 2020 and included rape, sexual assault, unwanted touching, emotional abuse and retaliation. The women had encountered Foppoli through relationships, political work, local government, the wine industry and Active 20-30 activities.

The plaintiffs told jurors that alcohol, suspected drugging, intimidation and Foppoli’s political and business influence affected their ability to consent or report what they said happened. Their attorney argued that the separate accounts showed a recurring pattern in which Foppoli used access, status and social settings to isolate women and disregard their boundaries.

Foppoli denied the allegations. During the trial, he characterized some encounters as consensual, romantic or flirtatious, disputed that other incidents occurred, and argued that the plaintiffs later reframed past relationships. Watters challenged the women’s accounts and argued that drinking alone did not establish an inability to consent.

The verdict came after criminal investigators examined allegations that became public in 2021. The investigation moved from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office to the California Attorney General’s Office because one plaintiff had previously worked as a Sonoma County deputy district attorney. Prosecutors did not file criminal charges, citing insufficient evidence for allegations still within the applicable statute of limitations.

That decision did not prevent the women from pursuing civil claims. Unlike a criminal prosecution, the lawsuit required the plaintiffs to show that their allegations were more likely true than not. At least nine of 12 jurors were required for a civil verdict; all 12 ultimately agreed.

Foppoli resigned as Windsor mayor in 2021 after the allegations became public. The civil judgment, along with any punitive damages and potential post-trial motions, leaves the case unresolved in the courts even as the verdict establishes financial liability against him and the local civic organization.

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