News & Analysis as of

Compensatory Damages Punitive Damages Corporate Counsel

Proskauer Rose LLP

Latest 'Nuclear Verdict' Underscores Jury-Trial Employer Risk

Proskauer Rose LLP on

Last month, in Jane Doe v. Alkiviades David, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury returned a verdict in a sexual assault and harassment case in the amount of $900 million. This verdict is one of the largest ever for a...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Tesla Still Liable for Racially Hostile Work Environment

In October 2021, a California federal jury awarded $137 million to a former contract employee who worked for Tesla. The jury found Tesla liable for creating a racially hostile work environment and awarded the employee $6.9...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Judge Reduces $137 Million Race Harassment Verdict Against Tesla to $15 Million

A federal court judge pared down last year’s jaw-dropping $137 million damages award against Tesla in a racial bias lawsuit. On April 13, 2022, the judge granted Tesla’s motion for a reduction in the amount of damages in part...more

Robinson+Cole Class Actions Insider

Class Action Fairness Act: Punitive Damages and Local Controversy Exception Addressed in Recent Seventh Circuit Decision

A recent Seventh Circuit decision made two rulings on issues arising under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) that defendants may find useful in other cases. First, potential punitive damages exceeding a single-digit ratio...more

Smith Anderson

Federal Court Ruling Limits Punitive Damages Awards for Sexual Harassment

Smith Anderson on

Punitive damages are an extraordinary remedy under Title VII, and in order to obtain them, the plaintiff must satisfy a higher standard. Nonetheless, the threat of substantial punitive damages under Title VII should put...more

Fisher Phillips

New Jersey Passes Equal Pay Legislation Aimed at Closing the Wage Gap for All Protected Classes

Fisher Phillips on

On March 27, 2018, New Jersey became the latest state to pass comprehensive equal pay legislation, and one of the first states to pass an equal pay law that extends protections beyond gender to all classes of employees that...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

District Court Awards Punitive Damages In Sex-Based Harassment EEOC Suit

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: In E.E.O.C. v. Scott Medical Health Center, P.C. No. CV 16-225, 2017 WL 5493975, at *2 (W.D. Pa. Nov. 16, 2017), a default judgement of liability was entered against the defendant company for sex-based...more

Burr & Forman

Mining company doomed in resurrected 'mark of the beast' lawsuit

Burr & Forman on

The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all South Carolina employers) recently decided a religious accommodation case in which a jury awarded a former employee more than half a million dollars. The Equal...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fifth Circuit Allows Award of Compensatory Damages for FLSA Overtime Violation

In its December Vaughn decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that plaintiffs in age discrimination cases may not collect compensatory or punitive damages. The court based its decision on its interpretation of...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fifth Circuit Rejects EEOC's Position on Punitive Damages for Age Discrimination

Last month, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed its earlier position that compensatory and punitive damages are not available to plaintiffs who allege violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)....more

Mayer Brown

Ninth Circuit Substantially Reduces Punitive Award Against Walgreen

Mayer Brown on

Things have been quiet in the world of punitive damages for the last few months, but two recent decisions substantially reducing punitive awards under the BMW/State Farm factors warrant mention. My colleague Miriam Nemetz...more

Morgan Lewis

MA Supreme Court Reinforces Employer Obligations on Sexual Harassment

Morgan Lewis on

The court’s decision to restore a $500,000 punitive damages award for failure to adequately address a sexual harassment complaint highlights employers’ duty to investigate every allegation and take appropriate remedial...more

Baker Donelson

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision Worsens Headaches for Employers Negotiating Pattern or Practice EEOC Claims

Baker Donelson on

In Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Bass Pro Outdoor World, L.L.C., a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the EEOC can seek punitive and compensatory damages for a pattern or practice...more

McGuireWoods LLP

10th Circuit Reverses Punitive Damages Against Property Owner Based on Use of “Reputable” Contractor

McGuireWoods LLP on

As we reported earlier this month, courts sometimes disregard the general rule of non-liability for the conduct of independent contractors, and allow liability to be imposed against principals — including for punitive damages...more

Cozen O'Connor

Bad Faith Attorneys’ Fees Are Compensatory Damages in Determining Cap On Punitive Damages

Cozen O'Connor on

On June 9, 2016, the California Supreme Court ruled in Nickerson v. Stonebridge Life Ins. Co., __ Cal.4th ___ (2016) that the attorneys’ fees awarded to a veteran who sued for benefits under a “hospital stay” policy should be...more

Mayer Brown

Tenth Circuit Reduces Punitive Award By More Than Ninety Percent In Carbon Monoxide Case

Mayer Brown on

Lately, we have had many occasions to criticize courts’ analysis of punitive damages issues, so it is nice for a change to be able to report on the Tenth Circuit’s insightful decision in Lompe v. Sunridge Partners. Readers...more

Burr & Forman

Eight-Figure Judgments in Trade Secret Cases – Do We Have Your Attention Now?

Burr & Forman on

The conventional wisdom among attorneys and litigants in the noncompete and trade secret arena is that the cases are all about the injunctions, usually at the TRO and interlocutory injunction stage. Some judgments handed...more

Orrick - Employment Law and Litigation

Actions Speak Louder than Words: Jury Awards $185 Million in Punitive Damages in Pregnancy Discrimination Suit

On November 17, 2014, a San Diego federal jury of five men and three women awarded Plaintiff Rosario Juarez $185 million dollars in punitive damages in her pregnancy discrimination lawsuit against her former employer AutoZone...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

California Jury Awards Over $185M To Victim Of Pregnancy Discrimination and 'Glass Ceiling'

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP on

A manager at AutoZone who complained she was not promoted like her male counterparts, demoted for taking leave to have a child, and eventually fired for filing a discrimination action was awarded damages yesterday of over...more

19 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 1

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide