Opinion ID: 1420265
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence justifying submission of punitive damages to the jury

Text: The trial court instructed the jury that punitive damages could be awarded only if the jury concluded that Norcon's conduct was outrageous. Outrageous conduct in turn was defined as conduct which is the result of maliciousness or hostile feelings toward the plaintiff, or was undertaken with reckless indifference to the interests, rights, or safety of others. Kotowski was required to prove outrageousness by clear and convincing evidence. Punitive damages against Norcon were permitted only with respect to Kotowski's sexual harassment, IIED, and NIED claims. The court gave a supplemental instruction concerning the amount of punitive damages. The instruction specified certain factors which the jury could consider: The law provides no fixed measure as to the amount of punitive damages, but leaves it to you to decide an amount that will fairly accomplish the purposes of punishment and deterrence. In assessing such damages you may consider the magnitude and flagrancy of Norcon, Inc.'s offense, the importance of the policy violated, the wealth of Norcon, Inc., and the amount of compensatory damages. Norcon does not challenge the court's instructions. Instead, it makes a conclusory factual argument that the relatively minor incidents of alleged harassment experienced by Kotowski simply are not sufficient to support [any award of punitive damages]. We reject this argument. As previously discussed, the sexual harassment by Posehn can reasonably be regarded as outrageous. Norcon also argues that the sexual harassment by Posehn was neither known to nor authorized by management and therefore Norcon cannot be liable for punitive damages attributable to Posehn's harassment. Norcon contends that an employer may be liable for punitive damages for sexual harassment only in the event of actual participation or willful indifference by upper management. But willful indifference is a standard different from and more demanding than the reckless indifference standard in the jury instruction. Since the correctness of this instruction has not been made an issue, the appropriate question which we must answer is whether the evidence could support a jury conclusion that Norcon management was recklessly indifferent to the dangers of sexual harassment on the oil spill cleanup project. We answer this question in the affirmative given the pervasiveness of Posehn's conduct, Norcon's managers' association with Posehn in his illicit partying, Norcon's failure to communicate an anti-sexual harassment policy, and Norcon's response to the information conveyed to Savell. Further, the jury was authorized to attribute Posehn's acts to Norcon if it found that Posehn was acting within the course and scope of his employment. Quid pro quo sexual harassment entailing employment decisions made by a supervisor generally is within the scope of the supervisor's employment. [19] In such circumstances, the supervisor's intentional acts of sexual harassment are attributable to the employer. Under the instructions given, Norcon's liability for Posehn's acts within the scope of his employment was not limited to compensatory damages. In this respect the instructions comport with prior case law which indicates that punitive damages may be awarded against an employer for the acts of employees within the scope of their employment. See, e.g., Alaskan Village, Inc. v. Smalley, 720 P.2d 945, 948-49 (Alaska 1986). There is another basis by which Norcon could have been found liable for punitive damages. The tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress will support an award of punitive damages. Under the court's instructions, the elements of this tort were (1) intentional conduct (2) which is extreme or outrageous (3) and which caused severe emotional distress or bodily harm. These elements could reasonably have been found satisfied by the facts underlying Kotowski's whistleblower claim. After Kotowski reported sexual harassment and alcohol consumption to Savell, Norcon responded by firing Kotowski rather than addressing her claims on their merits. And the manner in which Norcon acted made the situation worse. It used pretextual reasons for firing her, broke explicit promises that she would not be fired, and subjected her to a lengthy and hostile interrogation. We thus conclude that the issue of punitive damages was properly submitted to the jury on three theories: reckless indifference to sexual harassment on the part of Norcon, vicarious liability for acts of Posehn within the scope of his employment, and the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress arising out of Norcon's treatment of Kotowski after she reported her concerns to Savell.