Opinion ID: 2998667
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Lost Wages

Text: The defendants contend that Farfaras failed to mitigate damages by immediately beginning work in a comparable position, and that we should therefore reduce the award of lost wages to exclude the period of time during which Farfaras could have been working, but was not. Although in December Farfaras could have begun a new job similar to the job she held at Citizens Bank, she did not begin her new employment until January 8, 2001. The question of whether the district court should have awarded Farfaras lost wages for the period in dispute hinges on whether the defendants raised this issue at trial. There is no dispute that Farfaras’s alleged failure to mitigate was not raised in the pleadings or explicitly at trial. The defendants claim that the issue of failure to mitigate was raised by implication. “When issues not raised by the pleadings are tried by express or implied consent of the parties, they shall be treated in all respects as if they had been raised in the pleadings.” FED. R. CIV. P. 15(b). Nos. 05-2082 & 05-2368 17 The intent of rule 15(b) is “to provide the maximum opportunity for each claim to be decided on its merits rather than on procedural niceties.” The key factor in determining whether the pleadings have been amended is whether the issue has been tried with the express or implied consent of the parties. The test for such consent is “whether the opposing party had a fair opportunity to defend and whether he could have presented additional evidence had he known sooner the substance of the amendment.” One sign of implied consent is that issues not raised by the pleadings are presented and argued without proper objection by opposing counsel. In re Prescott, 805 F.2d 719, 725 (7th Cir. 1986) (citations omitted). The district court found that rule 15(b) did not apply because, “Defendants did not prove, or even raise the issue, of the failure to mitigate damages at trial. Thus, Defendants have waived their right to assert it now.” As a result of this ruling, the district court granted Farfaras lost wages of $9,314.48, rather than the $6,752.90 suggested by the defendants. The defendants claim implied consent arose when Farfaras did not object to cross-examination questions regarding the timing of her return to work. Farfaras admitted during cross-examination that her decision “not to go to work right away” was voluntary. This testimony, combined with Farfaras’s statement that she could have started her next job in the middle of December, but chose to wait until January was not sufficient to demonstrate that the defense had raised the issue of failure to mitigate. A district court’s determination of an award for lost wages is reviewed for clear error. See Fleming v. County of Kane, 898 F.2d 553, 560 (7th Cir. 1990). The trial testimony at issue is open to multiple interpretations. By questioning the 18 Nos. 05-2082 & 05-2368 reasons behind Farfaras’s decision to postpone returning to work, the defendants may have been raising the issue of mitigation of damages, or they may have been attempting to demonstrate that there was no long-lasting damage to Farfaras, thereby lessening damages for emotional distress. What issue was being addressed by defense counsel’s questions is a question of fact for the district court. The district court’s interpretation of the purpose of defense counsel’s question was reasonable. Having observed the entire trial, the district court was in the best position to determine whether or not the issue of failure to mitigate was raised. We see no error in the district court’s finding that the defendant did not raise the issue of mitigation. Therefore, the district court’s award of lost wages will be left undisturbed.