What Led to the Largest Single-Plaintiff Employment Award?
DLA Piper has posted a paper about a $185 million punitive damages award won by a plaintiff in a pregnancy discrimination suit.
Joseph Domenick Guarino and Kevin Connelly wrote that Rosario Juarez began as a retail salesperson in San Diego at AutoZone in 2000. She was promoted to Parts Sales Manager but was unsuccessful in seeking advancement to store manager until she complained of discrimination and threatened a lawsuit. Her career became even more difficult after she became pregnant in 2005.
After she gave birth, she was demoted and later fired.
At trial, a jury set punitive damages at $185 million, more than 200 times the compensatory damages award and $25 million more than Juarez’s attorney asked the jury to grant in punitive damages
