Facts

On July 5, 2005, plaintiff Bin Wu, a 45-year-old printing worker, was terminated from his position at the San Francisco office of the World Journal, a Taiwan-based Chinese newspaper.

Wu brought suit against World Journal Inc., his supervisor Meng-Lin Chen and another individual Pi-Fei Lee for damages claiming he was retaliated against for making improper allegations against World Journal Inc. and his supervisor Chen. Lee was later dismissed from the suit.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiff contended Chen harassed him and other Chinese employees for the seven and a half year duration of Wu's career at World Journal Inc. The plaintiff contended that Chen asked loans from employees in the amount of $30,000 and that Chen degraded Chinese employees by calling them "stupid midlanders" and other derogatory names. The plaintiff further contended that Chinese employees were relegated to menial jobs, while all management positions were held by people from Taiwan.

Wu claimed that Chen's monthly performance reviews became less favorable in mid-2003, when Chen became more discriminatory towards him. After threatening to retain an attorney and filing discrimination claims against Chen in April 2005, Wu was terminated three months thereafter. The plaintiff contended that he was unable to find work through the time of the trial, as the nature of Chinese printing was very specialized.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
The defendants contended that neither Chen nor the World Journal discriminated Wu. The defendants also contended that neither defendant was made aware of these allegations until the time of trial. Defendants further contended that Wu was dismissed because of his poor work performance, such as coming to work late, and/or not showing up at all. The defendants contended that Wu did not make a good faith effort to find work after being dismissed, only submitting one job application in 20 months, and making only about 15-20 phone calls to inquire about positions.

Injuries

The plaintiff claimed emotional distress.

Result

Jury award to Wu for $182,988 (includes $100,000 in punitive damages). The jury found that defendants retaliated against plaintiff for complaining about national origin discrimination.

Other Information

Defendants filed a JNOV and a motion for a new trial.

Deliberation

1.5 days

Poll

12-0

Length

eight days