Sally Walters v. State of California Department of Transportation and Don Reynolds
Published: Jan. 9, 1999 | Result Date: Sep. 24, 1998 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 7650293 Verdict – $500,000
Judge
Court
Alameda Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Daniel M. Siegel
(Siegel, Yee, Brunner & Mehta)
Randolph Hunter Pyle
(Hunter Pyle Law)
Defendant
Facts
In January 1991, Kate Baird, an environmental planner for the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) San Francisco Environmental Unit, began to subject plaintiff Sally Walters, a 44-year-old fellow environmental planner to sexual harassment. The plaintiff claimed that Baird, who had just been transferred from Caltrans' San Diego office, constantly leered at Walters, subjected her to unwelcome conversations about sex, and on several occassions grabbed Walters and rubbed her body against hers. Walters made a series of oral complaints to Caltrans supervisors, but no action was taken. At least three other employees in the Caltrans environmental mitigation unit made similar complaints. Walters then made a formal written complaint to the Caltrans EEO unit. Following that complaint, she began to suffer retaliation from her supervisor, Don Reynolds. Walters claimed that he threatened her saying that people who made complaints of sexual harassment had "no future" in his unit, and cancelled Walters' plans to attend training programs. Walters was shunned and ocstracized by some fellow employees and received obscene materials through the office mall. The informal complaint process did not lead to any relief for Walters. Finally, she made an informal written complaint to Caltrans. Following an investigation by a specially detailed state police officer, Caltrans fired Baird in May 1994. However, Walters continued to receive retaliation from some employees and supervisors, leading to her resignation from Caltrans in January 1996. She returned to work for Caltrans in 1998, at its Stockton office. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendant based on hostile work environment, sexual harassment, failure to prevent and remediate sexual harassment and retaliation theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made a pretrial settlement demand for $150,000. The defendants' final offer was $20,000.
Injuries
The plaintiff claimed that she suffered emotional distress.
Other Information
The verdict was reached approximately 2+ years after the case was filed. A mediation on March 3, 1997, before Anita Knowlton, resulted in no settlement. Defendants' motion for new trial and judgment notwithstanding the verdict were denied on November 24, 1998. Defendants have filed a notice of appeal. Plaintiff's motion for attorney fees is pending.
Deliberation
4½ hours
Poll
11-1 (sexual harassment liability), 12-0 (failure to prevent sexual harassment), 11-1 (retaliation by Caltrans), 11-1 (retaliation by Reynolds), 10-2 (damages)
Length
seven days
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