Opinion ID: 50961
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: TCHRA cap

Text: In the alternative, Arismendez argues that the district court erred in applying the cap in § 41.008; instead, she contends that the applicable cap is found in the TCHRA. Tex. Lab.Code § 21.2585(d). Section 21.2585(d) provides that: The sum of the amount of compensatory damages awarded under this section for future pecuniary losses, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other nonpecuniary losses and the amount of punitive damages awarded under this section may not exceed, for each complainant . . . (4) $300,000 in the case of a respondent that has more than 500 employees. Arismendez asserts that because her suit is brought pursuant to the TCHRA, the statutory cap found in that Act should apply. However, Chapter 41 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies, entitled Exemplary Damages, provides that [t]his chapter applies to any action in which a claimant seeks exemplary damages relating to a cause of action. § 41.002(a). Section 41.002(b) further states that: This chapter establishes the maximum exemplary damages that may be awarded in an action subject to this chapter, including an action for which exemplary damages are awarded under another law of this state. This chapter does not apply to the extent another law establishes a lower maximum amount of exemplary damages for a particular claim. Accordingly, the statutory cap applied by the district court provides that it applies to any action involving exemplary or punitive damages unless another law establishes a lower cap. Further, the statute expressly provides that it applies to all punitive damages except for an inclusive list. § 41.002(b)(1)-(15) and (d). That list does not exempt an action brought pursuant to TCHRA. The statute also instructs that in an action to which this chapter applies, the provisions of this chapter prevail over all other law to the extent of any conflict. § 41.002(c) (emphasis added). We have found no Texas case addressing this precise question. Arismendez, relying on Union Pac. R.Co. v. Loa, asserts that the lower cap in the TCHRA ($300,000) controls over the maximum recovery allowed in Chapter 41 ($750,000). 153 S.W.3d 162 (Tex.App.  El Paso 2004). This case offers Arismendez no succor. In Loa, based on the amount of compensatory damages awarded by the jury ($800,000), the maximum amount of punitive damages allowed by Chapter 41 was $750,000. Id. at 173. However, the maximum total award, including punitive damages, that TCHRA ever allows is $300,000. Thus, in Loa, the damages cap in the TCHRA was lower than the cap in Chapter 41. Under those circumstances, Chapter 41 dictated that the lower cap found in TCHRA applied. § 41.002(b). Although the opinion does not provide this analysis, the court came to the correct conclusion that the lower cap in the TCHRA applied. [8] In contrast, the maximum amount of punitive damages Chapter 41 allows based on the amount of economic damages awarded Arismendez is $200,000not $750,000. For Arismendez, the cap of $200,000 in Chapter 41 is the lower and therefore applicable cap. [9] Arismendez also contends that the applicable statutory cap should be determined prior to the jury's verdict to alleviate uncertainty as to potential liability or recovery. The above-quoted statutory scheme in Chapter 41 setting the maximum exemplary award cannot be determined until the jury has awarded economic damages. Once the statutory cap of Chapter 41 has been determined, a district court can then determine if another (here TCHRA) statutory cap is lower and therefore controlling. Arismendez's contention that the cap should be determined in the first instance flies in the face of the Texas statutory scheme used to determine the cap on a punitive damage award. It is without merit. In light of the broad language in Chapter 41 reaching any punitive damage awards except for certain enumerated actions not relevant here, and the express language that Chapter 41 prevails over all other conflicting law except when a lower maximum amount is set, we are persuaded that the district court correctly applied the cap found in § 41.008 to remit the punitive damage award to $200,000.