Facts

In May 1998, plaintiff Daniel Fitzpatrick was hired by defendant Foxconn Electronics Inc. and thereafter transferred to and became an employee of NWE Technology Inc., a Foxconn affiliate. Fitzpatrick was eventually promoted to Director of Business Development in the Santa Clara NWE office. In January 2001, Fitzpatrick was moved from NWE's Cisco account to NWE's Sun Microsystems account.

In September 2003, Fitzpatrick requested Family Medical Leave between November and December 2003, which was granted by employer NWE. While he was on leave, he was laid off. That lay off was effective March 2004.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Fitzpatrick contended that he was discriminated against because he was Caucasian and not Taiwanese. Fitzpatrick argued that he was demoted to a lesser account.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
The defendants contended that Fitzpatrick was terminated due to economic restructuring and not because of his race, ethnicity or taking FMLA leave. Defendants also contended that Fitzpatrick received negative performance reviews, which he did not seek to correct.

Injuries

Fitzpatrick claimed injuries including emotional distress.

Result

The jury found against Fitzpatrick and in favor of defendants on claims for wrongful termination based on race and ethnicity discrimination. The jury found for Fitzpatrick on the claim for termination based on taking FMLA leave. Damages were awarded in the amount of $882,000, which included $37,000 in lost wages, $20,000 for emotional distress, $500,000 in punitive damages against NWE Technology Inc., $225,000 in punitive damages against Foxconn Electronics, and $100,000 in punitive damages against Hon Hai Precision Industry Company Ltd.

Other Information

Thereafter, the court reversed the punitive damages award in its entirety, granting defendants' JNOV motion in that regard. Both plaintiff and defendants have appealed. FILING DATE: Feb. 3, 2006.