Alabama woman sues former boss for $4 million after being acquitted of theft

Published 6:02 am Monday, June 14, 2021

An Alabama woman who was cleared of theft charges after a former employer accused her of stealing from his wedding venue business is now suing her one-time boss for $4 million.

Gayla White, a former member of the city planning commission who was acquitted of wrongdoing during a trial in April, sued Eddie Donaldson. The suit accuses him of defamation, slander, libel, malicious prosecution and abuse of process, the Dothan Eagle reported.

Donaldson didn’t respond to requests for comment, the newspaper reported, and has neither responded to the lawsuit in court or enlisted an attorney who could comment on his behalf, records showed.

White is seeking $3 million to punish Donaldson plus $1 million in compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering and legal expenses.

She claims Donaldson falsely accused her of theft in 2018 because he was upset she was resigning before a planned wedding. Donaldson also wanted to keep the personal notebook she used to track her work hours and calendar, White said.

“He got mad because he had plans for him and his girlfriend to go to the beach,” White said Thursday.

White said she’d often stay at home because of the humiliating accusations, and her family felt isolated because of the experience.

“It was hard, and it’s still hard to go out and socialize without someone bringing it up and it being the center of the topic of conversation,” White said. “It’s embarrassing.”