Judge Voids Ex-Columnist’s $7.1-Million Jury Award Against L.A. Times
A judge has voided the remaining $5 million of a $7.1-million jury award to a former Los Angeles Times sports columnist, ruling that he was not entitled to any damages on his claims that the newspaper discriminated against him because of his age and a disability, the Times reports.
The ruling nullifies the jury’s findings on key issues in a six-week trial, including whether Simers was forced out or quit his job after he was disciplined for not fully disclosing a conflict of interest, as his editors contended.
“On Monday, MacLaughlin ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support Simers’ claim of constructive termination, namely that the newspaper had created or permitted intolerable working conditions,” the Times reports. “Instead, the judge ruled, Simers had quit his $234,000-a-year job of his own accord.”
