Opinion ID: 793980
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Jury Award of Front and Back Pay

Text: 62 The jury awarded $150,000 for lost earnings and benefits to date, and $75,000 for future lost earnings and benefits. R.160 at 5. After judgment was entered, the defendants moved for the district court to vacate these damages. They contended that vacation was possible under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59, which allows for a judgment to be altered or amended when there has been a manifest error of law. See Russell v. Delco Remy Div. of Gen. Motors Corp., 51 F.3d 746, 749 (7th Cir.1995). The defendants contend that it was a manifest error of law to award what it classifies as front and back pay 10 to Ms. Naeem, because an award for an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim is intended to compensate the victim for the emotional distress suffered as a result of the tortious conduct; awards for past and future loss of income and benefits, according to the defendants, are not logical for an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim. Defendants' Br. at 34-35. The district court denied defendants' motion; we review the district court's decision for abuse of discretion, and review its interpretation of the law de novo. See Boyd v. Illinois State Police, 384 F.3d 888, 897 (7th Cir.2004). 63 The general rule of damages in a tort action in Illinois is that: 64 the wrongdoer is liable for all injuries resulting directly from the wrongful acts, whether they could or should not have been foreseen by him, provided the particular damages are the legal and natural consequences of the wrongful act imputed to the defendant, and are such as might reasonably have been anticipated. 65 Sutton v. Overcash, 251 Ill.App.3d 737, 191 Ill.Dec. 230, 623 N.E.2d 820, 838 (1993) (citing Siemieniec v. Lutheran Gen. Hosp., 117 Ill.2d 230, 111 Ill.Dec. 302, 512 N.E.2d 691 (1987)). In Sutton, the court allowed a jury instruction on lost wages for the plaintiff's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim against her employer after the plaintiff presented evidence that the defendant's actions caused the plaintiff to leave her job, and initially to take a job that paid her less. Id. at 838-39. Although the defendants attempt to distinguish Sutton on the ground that the plaintiff voluntarily left her job, while Ms. Naeem was discharged, we do not believe this is a meaningful distinction. Just as in Sutton, the defendants' actions caused Ms. Naeem's loss of wages. These actions, as previously described, included hiding necessary files and failing to change deadlines in her PIP. These actions all contributed to her discharge. As the district court stated when allowing Ms. Naeem to present evidence of lost earnings, if you were to believe the plaintiff's testimony, you could find that ... the plaintiff's failure to do the things she had to do to keep her job was caused by the defendants' tortious conduct. Tr.X at 1484. Ms. Naeem also testified that she was unable to find a job after a job search, 11 and that her depression caused her difficulties in making good decisions. Tr.IX at 1288-94. 66 The defendants also argue that the award for lost earnings and benefits is against the weight of the evidence. Under Illinois law, [i]n order to recover lost earnings, all the law requires is that the plaintiff present evidence which will establish, with a fair degree of probability, a basis for the assessment of damages. Sutton, 191 Ill.Dec. 230, 623 N.E.2d at 838. As noted above, Ms. Naeem presented testimony with respect to how the defendants caused her to lose her job and how she had difficulty finding another job after her termination. Ms. Naeem also presented the testimony of Sandor Goldstein, an actuary, who calculated the present value of Ms. Naeem's lost earnings and benefits 12 to be between $337,570 and $510,382. Tr.XI at 1594-96. Therefore, there was an evidentiary basis for the jury's conclusion that defendants' actions caused a loss of past and future earnings, as well as relevant evidence for the jury to consider in calculating those losses. It was not an abuse of discretion for the district court to find the evidence provided the proof of damages. See McClain v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., 139 F.3d 1124, 1126 (7th Cir.1998) (holding that [g]enerally, an abuse of discretion only occurs where no reasonable person could take the view adopted by the trial court (citing Harrington v. DeVito, 656 F.2d 264, 269 (7th Cir.1981))).