Opinion ID: 2637353
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Punitive Damages Award Was Excessive.[40]

Text: Era contends that the $725,000 in punitive damages the jury awarded Lindfors is excessive in light of prior awards in similar cases, the amount of Era's annual earnings, and the jury's rejection of Lindfors's constructive discharge claim. Given the jury's finding that Lindfors suffered no special damages and its modest award for emotional damages, we agree that Era's conduct does not justify the jury's punitive damages award. In an analogous case, Norcon, Inc. v. Kotowski, we recently concluded that flagrant sexual harassment warranted an award of no more than $500,000. [41] In some respects, the conduct in Norcon was more serious than Era's: [42] the plaintiff in Norcon was subjected to unwanted sexual touching and was fired when she complained; this treatment was part of an ongoing pattern of harassment that was tolerated by Norcon's management. [43] Era, by contrast, was found to have discriminated against Lindfors in connection with only one promotion decision; Lindfors alleged no physically assaultive or discriminatory conduct. In other respects, the conduct here seems more serious than Norcon's: the sexual harassment in Norcon, while more reprehensible, lasted only a few days. [44] In contrast, Lindfors suffered harassment over a longer period of time. Moreover, after she complained of sexual discrimination, Era retaliated by revoking her June paychecks, frustrating her efforts to pass her annual flight proficiency exam, which caused her to lose her commercial flight status, and compiling a personnel record that prevented her from getting another job as a commercial pilot. On balance, however, we find that the magnitude and flagrancy of the misconduct in this case is, in broad terms, comparable to and, at worst, does not significantly exceed the misconduct at issue in Norcon. Nor is the present case readily distinguishable from Norcon in other relevant respects. [45] Since we find these two cases similar, our decision concerning the maximum sustainable punitive damages award in Norcon compels us to conclude that the maximum justifiable punitive damage award here is $500,000. Accordingly, we remand with directions to order a remittitur to this amount. [46] Alternatively, Lindfors may request a new trial on the issue of punitive damages. [47]