Punitive Damages In Sexual Harassment Case.

In an Arizona sexual harassment case, a woman worked for a large mining and refining company. Her supervisor refused to train or help her when she refused his romantic overtures. He is six feet, two inches and weighs 350 pounds and would stand very close to her; she was afraid he would rape her.  She complained to human resources and others several times, and they said there was nothing they could do and that she had to handle it herself. Eventually she secured a promotion to another crew, but there was no functioning women’s restroom in the building and the portable toilet was covered with pornographic graffiti directed at plaintiff. That portable toilet was replaced, and the graffiti was replicated. Once again, she lodged complaints and nothing was done. She was given a different assignment, but from the start the man she was told to whom she was required to report told her “your ass is mine” and that she would be spending more time with her than his “lady.” At trial, the employer argued he was a rude bully who yelled at everyone, and “that as awful as Esquivel was toward [plaintiff], it was not motivated by her sex but instead by his general boorishness.” Eventually she quit and brought an action against the employer. A jury awarded no compensatory damages and only one dollar in nominal damages. The jury also awarded $868,750 in punitive damages. The district court ordered the punitive damages reduced to $300,000. The Ninth Circuit vacated the award of punitive damages and stated: “On remand, the district court may order a new trial unless the plaintiff accepts a remitter to $125,000.” (Arizona v. ASARCO LLC. (Ninth Cir.; October 24, 2013) (Case No. 11-17484).)