Moran v. Qwest Communications Internat., Inc.
Qwest Communications International, Inc., Qwest Corporation,[1] and Dennis Sherwood, defendants below, appeal the judgment entered upon a jury verdict in favor of Amy Moran, plaintiff below. The jury found all defendants liable for the sexual harassment of Moran and Qwest liable for failure to take reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment and for terminating Moran’s employment in violation of public policy. The jury awarded Moran $492,710 for economic damages, a total of $2.8 million for noneconomic damages, and $1 million in punitive damages. Defendants contend that: (1) the jury’s findings of liability were not supported by substantial evidence; (2) the trial court prejudicially abused its discretion when it admitted evidence that Sherwood harassed other individuals at Qwest and had been investigated for sexual harassment at a previous job; (3) the award for noneconomic damages is excessive; and (4) Qwest cannot be liable for punitive damages because the jury’s finding that Sherwood was a managing agent of Qwest was not supported by substantial evidence.
Moran cross-appeals from the order of the trial court granting summary adjudication to defendants on her first and fifth causes of action, for gender-based discrimination and for failure to pay wages on termination, contending that triable issues of fact exist.
With the exception of the awards for noneconomic damages, we affirm the judgment entered by the trial court. The awards of noneconomic damages are reversed and we remand the cause for a new trial, solely on the issue of noneconomic damages, unless Moran accepts a remission of noneconomic damages in the amount of $750,000. We also affirm the court’s order granting summary adjudication to defendants on Moran’s first and fifth causes of action.
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