Opinion ID: 1808855
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Appropriateness of Compensatory Damages Award

Text: Slack argues that, even if this Court upholds the judgment against him, the award of $212,000 in compensatory damages is inappropriate because, he alleges, it is wholly unsupported by the evidence. During trial, Stream sought both actual compensatory damages as well as damages for mental anguish. Slack argues that Stream was able to prove, at most, $12,000 in lost income from his inability to teach at UNLV during the summer of 2004. Slack also argues that Stream admitted that he was embarrassed about the charges of plagiarism before the letter of reprimand was written. He further argues that, although Stream claims his reputation in academia has been tarnished, Stream has successfully published in journals since the letter of reprimand was made public. It is undisputed that Slack lost the opportunity to receive $12,000 in income from teaching summer courses at UNLV because of UNLV's investigation, which was initiated by the letter of reprimand Slack had disseminated. Thus, this Court must determine if an award of $200,000 in damages for mental anguish is excessive. Mental anguish includes anxiety, embarrassment, anger, fear, frustration, disappointment, worry, annoyance, and inconvenience. Horton Homes, Inc. v. Brooks, 832 So.2d 44, 53 (Ala.2001). Regarding an award of damages for mental anguish, this Court has held: It is well settled that a plaintiff may recover compensatory damages for mental anguish, even when mental anguish is the only injury visited upon the plaintiff. Kmart v. Kyles, 723 So.2d 572, 578 (Ala. 1998); Alabama Power Co. v. Harmon, 483 So.2d 386, 389 (Ala.1986). Once the plaintiff has presented some evidence of mental anguish, the question whether he should recover for such mental anguish, and, if so, how much, is a question reserved for the jury. National Ins. Assoc. v. Sockwell, 829 So.2d 111, 133 (Ala. 2002); Kmart, 723 So.2d at 578.... A jury's verdict is presumed correct, and that presumption is strengthened upon the trial court's denial of a motion for new trial. [ Alabama Power Co. v. ] Murray , 751 So.2d [494,] 500-01 [(Ala. 1999)]. On the other hand, that presumption is weakened and we strictly scrutinize such a verdict when a plaintiff who claims damages solely for mental anguish fails to offer his own testimony of the mental anguish he has suffered. Sockwell, 829 So.2d at 133-34; Kmart, 723 So.2d at 578. Despite our great deference to the jury's award of compensatory damages for mental anguish, we have not hesitated to remit such damages where the plaintiff has produced little or no evidence indicating that he has suffered such mental anguish. Orkin Exterminating Co. v. Jeter, 832 So.2d 25, 36-37 (Ala.2001). The inquiry is not whether traumatic events have occurred, but whether the plaintiff has actually suffered as a result of those events. 832 So.2d at 37. When a plaintiff's testimony amounts to little more than the obvious notion that dealing with the traumatic event was `hard' or `humiliating,' we have consistently remitted damages. Delchamps, Inc. v. Bryant, 738 So.2d 824, 837 (Ala.1999). Additionally, when a plaintiff testifies merely that he suffered `a lot' of mental anguish, we have similarly remitted damages. Oliver v. Towns, 770 So.2d 1059, 1061 (Ala.2000); Foster v. Life Ins. Co. of Georgia, 656 So.2d 333, 336-37 (Ala.1994). George H. Lanier Mem'l Hosp. v. Andrews, 901 So.2d 714, 725-26 (Ala.2004). The case before us, however, is replete with evidence of Stream's mental anguish. Upon learning that Bernick had received a copy of the letter of reprimand, a letter of which Stream was unaware when it was sent to Bernick, Stream stated he became worried about his job at UNLV as well as his professional career. Stream also received telephone calls from junior faculty members at Florida State University, where he had earned his Ph.D., indicating that they had learned of the plagiarism charges. Stream stated he was embarrassed and ashamed that his friends and colleagues would associate him with rape, intellectual theft, and a capital offense as Slack alluded to in his letter. He felt like an outcast because his colleagues at UAB would not speak to him after learning of Slack's accusations against him. Stream felt further isolated from the faculty of the Department of Government because Slack denied him access to the department's photocopier and the facsimile machine. As of the date of trial, Stream did not know to whom the letter of reprimand had been disseminated. Stream testified that two years after the incident he still obsesses over it, continually relives the situation in his mind, and thinks about it every day. Furthermore, Stream's wife, Marnie Rice Stream, had resigned from her position at UAB, and the Streams had placed their house in Birmingham on the market in February 2004 when he learned that he had been offered the job at UNLV. The uncertainty surrounding his position at UNLV following Slack's sending the letter of reprimand to UNLV caused Stream to worry about Marnie's resignation from UAB as well as the sale of their house. Marnie testified that the events surrounding the letter of reprimand strained the Stream's marriage and caused difficulty in communications between her and Stream. The stress on their marriage also caused arguments. Marnie also testified that she saw Stream cry over the events surrounding the letter of reprimand. According to Marnie, Stream became very depressed and could not sleep. The evidence showed other bases for awarding mental-anguish damages in light of the significance of the status of professional reputation in Stream's academic field. As Dr. Mary Guy of Florida State University testified at trial, the damage to an academician's reputation caused by an accusation of plagiarism is extreme and it takes years and years and years to overcome.... Slack argues that the truthfulness or partial truthfulness of the allegations contained in the letter of reprimand mitigates Stream's compensatory damages. In support of his argument, Slack cites Johnson Publishing Co. v. Davis, 271 Ala. 474, 124 So.2d 441 (1960). In Johnson Publishing, Davis sued the publishers of Jet magazine, alleging libel for a story published in Jet that stated that Davis had attacked Rev. Ralph David Abernathy with a hatchet and pistol. The evidence showed, however, that Davis had a hatchet and a pistol on his person when he met with Abernathy about Abernathy's relationship with Davis's wife and that during the meeting Davis advanced toward Abernathy, displaying the hatchet, when Abernathy stood up. In reducing the punitive-damages award, this Court held: Truth of some of the statements attributed to the defendant may be shown in mitigation of damages. Jacobs v. Herlands, 257 App. Div. 1050, 13 N.Y.S.2d 707 [(1939)]; Fleckenstein v. Friedman, 266 N.Y. 19, 193 N.E. 537 [(1934)], and `Well settled is the basic rule that the amount of plaintiff's recovery may be reduced by proof of facts tending but failing to prove the truth of the libel's charge.' Crane v. New York World Telegram Corp., 308 N.Y. 470, 126 N.E.2d 753, 757, 52 A.L.R.2d 1169 [(1955)]. 271 Ala. at 490, 124 So.2d at 453. Johnson Publishing is distinguishable from this case: Whereas Johnson Publishing involved punitive damages in a libel case, Slack asks this Court to remit the damages for mental anguish, which are considered compensatory damages. Compensatory damages are designed to make the plaintiff whole by reimbursing him or her for the loss or harm suffered. Torsch v. McLeod, 665 So.2d 934, 940 (Ala.1995). In contrast, punitive damages serve `not to compensate the plaintiff but to punish the wrongdoer and to deter the wrongdoer and others from committing similar wrongs in the future.' Ex parte Weyerhaeuser [Co.], 702 So.2d [1227] at 1229 [(Ala.1996)], quoting Green Oil Co. v. Hornsby, 539 So.2d 218, 222 (Ala.1989). Ex parte Moebes, 709 So.2d 477, 478 (Ala. 1997). Whereas the partial truth of a matter asserted may mitigate the need to punish the wrongdoer or to deter similar wrongs as it relates to punitive damages, it does not mitigate the mental anguish suffered by the offending statement. Therefore, we decline to remit the mental-anguish damages award. Because we presume that a jury's verdict is correct and that presumption is strengthened when the trial court denies a motion for a new trial, and because Stream provided sufficient evidence that he suffered mental anguish, we affirm the trial court's award of damages for mental anguish. See Alabama Power Co. v. Murray, 751 So.2d 494 (Ala.1999).