Saturday, February 10, 2018
- US District Court ME: In upholding plaintiff’s jury verdict on Maine Whistleblowers’ Protection Act claim, including $450,000 punitive damages and $50,000 back pay awards, the court held that there was sufficient evidence that plaintiff engaged in WPA-protected conduct by reporting to her employer what she subjectively believed was harassment based on her age and/or disability, and that her belief was objectively reasonable, even if the conduct was not actually illegal, and even if she did not explicitly state in her reports that her harassment was unlawful or based on her age, disability, or other protected status; two-month gap between protected reports and and termination was sufficiently close to establish causation, and reports made 28 months and two years earlier came into play in the termination decision because they were substantially similar to the report made within two months of the termination, even if each was not sufficiently close in time, standing alone, to establish a causal nexus; punitive damages were permissible despite lack of compensatory damages, because the back-pay award met the Law Court’s prerequisite that there be compensatory or “actual damages” before punitive damages may be awarded; 9:1 ratio of punitive damages to back pay was not excessive; front pay was not warranted where plaintiff failed to show that a job with pay and benefits comparable to those she received with defendant was unavailable to her had she desired it
- First Circuit: Trial judge did err by including a custom-tailored adaptation of the McDonnell Douglas framework in jury instructions, and that it was not plain error for the judge to instruct the jury that, even if it found that plaintiff had proven the elements of her prima facie case, it would still have to consider whether the defendants’ proffered reasons for firing her were legitimate and nondiscriminatory and, if so, whether those reasons were “merely a pretext”
- Maine Superior Court: Justice found landlord violated Maine Human Rights Act and Fair Housing Act by creating a hostile housing environment based on tenant’s female sex and retaliated against her for reporting it by turning off her electricity and taking her cat, and justice awarded $50,000 in compensatory damages and a $10,000 civil penalty
- Maine Superior Court: Property owner’s motion for summary judgment denied on negligence claim arising out of fall due to missing handrail, where there was a genuine issue of material fact whether owner retained sufficient control over property (leased to store owner) to be liable for failing to install handrail
- Maine Superior Court: Justice awarded personal injury plaintiff $1,630,000 (including $150,000 in punitive damages) who was severely injured while running beside the road by truck going 63 mph in a 30 mph zone; defendant, who was uninsured, defaulted
- Press Herald: Oakhurst OT case of missing-comma fame settled for $5 million
