Facts

The city of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) employed Eric Taylor in 1988.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
In 2003, Taylor's supervisor, Bruce Hamer, fired one of Taylor's African-American subordinates without first informing Taylor. Later, Taylor's former subordinate filed complaints with the DWP EEO claiming wrongful termination based on his race and identifying Taylor as a supporting witness. After Taylor provided the EEO information, Hamer gave a less qualified employee a promotion. In 2005, Taylor sued the DWP for retaliation and failure to take remedial action. Taylor sued Hamer for retaliation only. Hamer was dismissed from the suit, and was not a party at the time of settlement. Taylor was promoted after reaching a settlement, which plaintiff and counsel contend was prompted by the lawsuit.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
DWP denied that Taylor suffered any retaliation. Taylor was not selected for an emergency engineer appointment because the person selected achieved a higher score based on his job interview and was more qualified than Taylor. Taylor did not score high enough on the City's civil service examination to be interviewed or selected for a regular full engineer position.

Damages

Plaintiff sought loss of increased earnings due to denial of promotion.

Injuries

Taylor claimed that he suffered emotional distress and physical symptoms.

Result

Parties settled for $740,000, plus $10,000 in lost benefits.