Opinion ID: 76226
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Compensatory Damages for Emotional Harm

Text: 48 At trial, the Librarians testified to the emotional and mental pain they suffered as a result of being transferred from meaningful, supervisory positions to dead-end, nonmanagerial jobs. The Librarians testified the race-based transfers effectively destroyed their careers, and some testified the transfers caused them to resign or go on worker's compensation. When describing their emotional harm, the Librarians testified the transfers upset, embarrassed, humiliated, and ashamed them. Some Librarians testified the transfers caused them to become depressed and one even became suicidal. Other than their own testimony, the Librarians presented no independent medical evidence of mental or physical harm. 49 The jury awarded each Librarian $1 million for emotional harm to be divided among Appellants as follows: $350,000 against McClure; $300,000 against both Hooker and Ward; and $50,000 against Jenkins. The district court granted in part Appellants' motion for remittitur, reducing the compensatory damages for emotional distress to $500,000 per Librarian to be divided among Appellants as follows: $150,000 against McClure, Hooker, and Ward; and $50,000 against Jenkins. Appellants argue the evidence does not support an award of $500,000 per Librarian for emotional distress. 50 Although compensatory damages must be proven, general compensatory damages, as opposed to special damages, need not be proved with a high degree of specificity and may be inferred from the circumstances. Ferrill v. Parker Group, Inc., 168 F.3d 468, 476 (11th Cir.1999). A plaintiff may be compensated for intangible, psychological injuries as well as financial, property, or physical harms. Id. Humiliation and insult are recognized, recoverable harms, and a plaintiff's own testimony of embarrassment and humiliation can be sufficient to support an award for compensatory damages. Id. (citing Marable v. Walker, 704 F.2d 1219, 1220 (11th Cir.1983)). 51 We review the district court's decision to sustain compensatory damages for clear abuse of discretion. Middlebrooks v. Hillcrest Foods, Inc., 256 F.3d 1241, 1249 (11th Cir.2001). After a trial court has reviewed and remitted a jury award to a specific amount, the district court's decision is accorded a presumption of validity. Ferrill, 168 F.3d at 476. The standard of review for awards of compensatory damages for intangible, emotional harm is deferential to the fact finder because the harm is subjective and evaluating it depends considerably on the demeanor of the witnesses. Patterson v. P.H.P. Healthcare Corp. 90 F.3d 927, 938 (5th Cir.1996) (quotation marks omitted). 52 After reviewing the record, we discern no reason to substitute our judgment for that of the jury or the district court as to the amount of damages necessary to compensate the Librarians for their emotional pain and suffering. See Farley v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 197 F.3d 1322, 1336 (11th Cir.1999). Therefore, we conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in sustaining awards of $500,000 per Librarian for emotional harm.