Leslie M. Osborn, the chief judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit, has determined that it would be “improper” for judges in the circuit to preside over any of the four civil suits filed against Crossroads Community Services Board this month by four former employees.

In four separate orders, Osborne directed the Prince Edward Circuit Court Clerk to “file this order with the papers in this case with the Judicial Disqualification Policy and certify the disqualification to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.”

Judges in the 10th Judicial Circuit include Osborne, Donald Blessing and Kimberley White. The counties in the circuit include Buckingham, Cumberland, Prince Edward, Appomattox, Charlotte, Halifax, Lunenburg and Mecklenburg.

Four former employees of the Farmville-based Crossroads Community Services Board have filed civil suits against the agency, in addition to individually suing Crossroads Executive Director Dr. Susan Baker, Board Chairman Sidney Smyth and the agency’s member counties.

The suits, which seek punitive and actual damages from Baker and Smyth, were filed May 2 in Prince Edward Circuit Court by former employees Cynthia Morris, who served as coordinator of nursing services; Laura Baldwin, office manager; Jonathan Crawford, substance abuse coordinator and substance abuse director; and Marina Sinyard, director of long-term care.

Smyth nor Baker could be reached for comment.

According to the suits, the four employees were terminated Jan. 20 by Baker as part of what she called a “reduction in force.” The suits claim that the four were terminated in retaliation for complaints lodged against the agency.

Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties are members of the community services board, whose main office is on Bush River Drive east of Farmville.

The four are seeking actual damages of $300,000, punitive damages of $500,000 against Baker and Smyth individually, non-economic compensatory damages, back pay, monetary equivalent of the value of their future employment, litigation costs and reinstatement with full seniority status.

The four suits demand a jury trial.

According to the suits, after the four reported to the board on Oct. 27 concerning the application of state funds, Smyth and Baker “embarked on a plan to terminate senior managers who had reported to the board and those who had associated with, or were perceived as supporting, the reports critical of operations at Crossroads CSB … In the course of the effort to terminate Plaintiff’s employment, Defendants Baker and Smyth defamed Plaintiff.”

The four are seeking damages as a result of the “wrongful termination … contrary to both the common law and the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act ‘whistleblower’ protections.”

After Baker was appointed executive director in April 2015, “over time, senior staff began to experience difficulty obtaining answers to questions and needed input for Director Baker,” the four suits allege.

The Sinyard suit alleges that on Jan. 20, Emergency Services Director Cheryl Mullooly told Baker that “she had made a mistake in terminating Plaintiff and others as the terminated employees were good employees necessary to the successful operation of the agency. Defendant Baker responded that ‘“they have made my life unbearable for the past 3 months and it cannot continue … They are not as knowledgeable about things as you think they are and quite frankly, they are liars.’”

Her suit alleges that Baker sought to terminate Morris and Baldwin, along with Sinyard and Crawford, to make the removals “‘look fair.’”