On Friday, the jury in Alex Jones’ defamation trial heard evidence about his net worth. At the close of the trial, the jury awarded the two parents $45.2 million as punitive damages. That is much less than the $150 million they had sought. But, after the trial, the parents, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis were
A Bexar County jury found in favor of the employee in a retaliation lawsuit. Joseph Sifuentes, an 18 year employee of Bill Miller’s Barbacue, told a female manager to go to Human Resources regarding a male supervisor who was harassing her. The male harasser was a friend of Sifuentes’ boss. The male harasser was fired.
A San Diego, California jury recently awarded less than one million in compensatory damages and another $185 million in punitive damages to a woman who sued for pregnancy based discrimination. See Workplace Prof blog post. The suit was lodged against AutoZone. Rosario Juarez alleged that she was fired after being told that pregnant women
I tell my clients regularly that even when a plaintiff wins, most juries do not award compensatory damages or punitive damages. Punitive damages are rare in employment cases. What would be required for a jury or judge to award punitive damages. We get a look at what is required in Rhines v. Salinas Construction Technologies
A federal district court jury in St. Louis found in favor of a woman claiming sexual harassment. They then awarded her $95 million, an unheard of amount in a single plaintiff case. The unlucky defendant was aaron’s Inc. formerly known as Aaron’s Rent-to-Own. See St. Louis Today report. 
The amount includes $15 million
Well, the Texas Supreme Court is again dismantling victim’s remedies. But, this time, they are working against small ranchers. In Bennett and Bonham Corp. v. Reynolds, the court took away another jury verdict. This time it was a cattle theft case. The jury awarded $5,327 in actual losses and $1.25 million in punitive damages.
The Ninth Circuit joins the Seventh Circuit in finding that an employee suing for retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act is not entitled to compensatory damages or punitive damages. Alvarado v. Cajun Operating Co., No. 08-15549 (9th Cir. 12/11/09). The court also ruled that a jury is not available. See brief discussion