Facts

Patricia Metzner sued The Permanente Medical Group, in connection with an employment-related dispute.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff began working for defendant in 1992 and worked as a director of cardiovascular services from 2000 until the unit closed in 2010. She was then designated as a director of the Special Procedures Suite – Eye Surgery Center in the Broadway medical office and later became the director of the Oakland Perioperative Medicine Clinic.

Plaintiff claimed that in mid-2011, she informed her supervisor that she was considering undergoing back surgery. She was subsequently placed on medical leave from September 2011 until January 2012. Upon her return to work in March, defendant allegedly placed her on a performance improvement plan, which she allegedly did not pass and ultimately led to her termination in January 2013.

Plaintiff sued defendant, claiming wrongful termination. Plaintiff alleged her termination was in retaliation for her taking a protected medical leave.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant claimed plaintiff's work performance had been bad since she started her new position in 2010.

Injuries

Metzner was unable to obtain a new job for three years following her termination and suffered emotional distress as a result.

Result

The jury found in favor of Metzner and awarded her $3.05 million, which included $569,285 in past economic loss, $2,430,715 in future economic loss, and $50,000 in past non-economic loss.

Other Information

The court issued an order on post-trial motions reducing plaintiff's front pay award. Plaintiff accepted a remittitur of her front pay award to $900,000, for a total award of $1,519,285.