Damages

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In Duarte v. St. Barnabas Hospital, 15-CV-6824, 2018 WL 4440501 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 17, 2018) – a disability discrimination case – the court held, inter alia, that a jury award of $750,000 for punitive damages was too high, and that $125,000 was more appropriate. The court explained, inter alia, that “[u]nder the [New York City Human Rights…

Read More Court Explains Remittitur of $750,000 Punitive Damages Award in Disability Discrimination Case
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In Duarte v. St. Barnabas Hospital, 15-CV-6824, 2018 WL 4440501 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 17, 2018) – a disability discrimination case – the court held, inter alia, that a jury award of $624,000 for compensatory/emotional distress damages was too high, and that $125,000 was more appropriate. To do this, the court employed the procedural mechanism of “remittitur.” After explaining…

Read More Court Explains Remittitur of $624,000 Emotional Distress Damages Award to $125,000 in Disability Discrimination Case
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In Morales v. PepsiCo. Inc., 16-cv-6597, 2018 WL 3853390 (W.D.N.Y. August 14, 2018), the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against his former employer alleging race discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State Human Rights Law. Not uncommonly, a discovery dispute arose. Among other issues contested…

Read More Court Addresses Discovery Relating to Emotional Distress Damages in Title VII Discrimination Case
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In Saber v. New York State Department of Financial Services, 15-cv-5944, 2018 WL 3491695 (S.D.N.Y. July 20, 2018), the court held that the jury’s $2.5 million verdict was excessive, and held that $125k was more appropriate. The court summarized the evidence of emotional distress as follows: At the trial, Plaintiff testified that he felt “extremely…

Read More Court Remits $2.5 Million Emotional Distress Jury Award to $125,000 in Discrimination Case
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From Matter of New York State Div. of Human Rights v. International Fin. Servs. Group, 2018 NY Slip Op 04673 (App. Div. 1st Dept. June 26, 2018): Determination of petitioner New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR), dated May 19, 2015, granting the complaint for disability discrimination, awarding complainant $64,436.03 in back pay and $10,000 for…

Read More Disability Discrimination Awards For Back Pay, Emotional Distress Upheld
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In Mayo-Coleman v. American Sugar Holdings, Inc., 14-cv-79, 2018 WL 2684100 (S.D.N.Y. June 5, 2018), the court, inter alia, held that a $1.7 million jury verdict in plaintiff’s favor on her sexual harassment/hostile work environment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State Human Rights Law should…

Read More Court Remits Jury Award of $1.7M to $500,000 for Emotional Damages in Sexual Harassment Case
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A federal (EDNY / Brooklyn) jury recently awarded several employees a collective $5.1 million in damages against a health insurance company that, the plaintiffs claimed, forced them to follow the practices of an obscure religion called “Onionhead.” (I wrote about the lawsuit’s filing here.) The verdict sheet (below) reflects, inter alia, that the jury awarded…

Read More EDNY Jury Awards $5.1M in “Onionhead” Religious Discrimination Case [EEOC v. United Health Programs of America]
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In Chauca v. Abraham, 2018 WL 1352351 (2d Cir. March 16, 2018), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the district court erred in declining to submit the question of punitive damages to the jury under the New York City Human Rights Law. In a prior opinion,[1]Chauca v. Abraham, 841 F.3d…

Read More 2d Circuit: Lower Court Mistakenly Applied Higher Standard for Punitive Damages Under the NYC Human Rights Law
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In Sharkey v. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., 2018 WL 1229831 (S.D.N.Y. March 5, 2018), the court, inter alia, struck down a jury verdict of $563,000 for emotional distress suffered by plaintiff as a result of her alleged retaliatory termination in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). From the Opinion: If Sharkey is…

Read More Court Strikes Down $563K Emotional Distress Damages Jury Verdict in SOX Case as “Infected With Passion and Prejudice”
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In Matthews v. Hewlett-Packard Company, 15-cv-3922, 2017 WL 6804075 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 22, 2017), a race discrimination/hostile work environment/retaliation case, the court explained and applied the principles applicable to the admissibility of expert testimony – under FRE 702/Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993) – as to emotional distress damages. In sum, the court…

Read More Court Precludes Expert Testimony on Emotional Distress in Race Discrimination Case
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