Confidential
Settlement – $400,000Court
San Francisco Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Daniel M. Siegel
(Siegel, Yee, Brunner & Mehta)
Defendant
Terence J. Howzell
(Office of the Palo Alto City Attorney)
Facts
Plaintiff Kristen Odlaug was a 35-year-old firefighter who had joined the San Francisco Fire Department in May 1999. The department was comprised of about 2,200 firefighters of which about 10 percent was female. It was not unusual for Odlaug to be the only female in a group of five or more firefighters. In 2003, Odlaug made a formal complaint to the San Francisco Fire Commission regarding an ongoing sexual harassment, claiming that certain firefighters were subjecting her to constant verbal and physical harassment, particularly when under the influence of alcohol. Odlaug later asked and was transferred from Chinatown to Station 14 in Richmond District, where she was assigned to surf rescue, an area of her expertise. In 2003, Odlaug asked for and was granted transfer to the San Francisco Airport Station. However, the harassment did not stop. In 2004, she sued the department and fellow firefighter Robert Palu claiming that the entire department was a tainted environment in which her co-workers, in her new position, mostly male, were hostile and even threatening after learning that she had filed a formal harassment complaint.
Damages
The plaintiff's primary claim was general damages for emotional distress. However, the plaintiff also made an economic claim of $40,000 because she had taken time off by using up all vacation and sick days to avoid harassment. The plaintiff also claimed a couple of thousand dollars in medical bills for seeing a psychologist.
Injuries
The plaintiff claimed emotional distress including an economic claim and medical bills for a psychologist. She stated that the specific threats made to her after she had filed the complaint and the general poisonous atmosphere in the department for women, caused her significant emotional distress. She complained that she had begun to feel paranoid every time she would be on a roof fighting fire, because of the threats that someone might push her off of the roof.
Result
Prior to trial, the city settled with the plaintiff and agreed to pay her $400,000 in out-of-pocket and general damages.
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