Opinion ID: 835882
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: international's motion for a directed verdict on punitive damages

Text: At trial, International moved for a directed verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict on plaintiff's claim for punitive damages, arguing that plaintiff had introduced no evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude that International's conduct was wanton or that International had ratified any other person's wanton disregard of plaintiff's rights. The trial court denied those motions, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. Jensen, 170 Or.App. at 55-57, 11 P.3d 678. Because of the conclusions that we reach above, we review the directed verdict motion by examining the record to determine only whether there is any evidence to support International's ratification of the willful and wanton misconduct of Medley and Local, not to determine whether there is evidence related to agency that would support the jury's decision to hold International vicariously liable for the misconduct of Medley and Local. A jury may impose punitive damages on a principal for the wrongful acts of its agent if the principal ratified the acts of the agent. Badger v. Paulson Investment Co., Inc., 311 Or. 14, 27-28, 803 P.2d 1178 (1991). Ratification of an agent's actions by a principal can occur only if there is evidence from which a jury could properly find that the principal, with knowledge of the material facts, intended to ratify the agent's action. Minniti v. Cascade Employers Assn., 280 Or. 319, 332, 570 P.2d 1171 (1977). We therefore review the record to determine whether there is any evidence to support plaintiff's claim that International, with knowledge of the material relevant facts, intended to ratify the wrongful conduct of Medley or Local towards plaintiff. Plaintiff summarized the evidence in support of her claim in her brief in the Court of Appeals and concluded with the assertion that substantial evidence exists that Medley and Local 49 retaliated against Plaintiff because she made a good faith report of apparently criminal activity to DOL. Plaintiff is correct in that regard. Under the legal principles set out above, for International (in contrast to Medley or Local) to be liable to plaintiff for punitive damages, plaintiff would have to produce evidence that International had ratified Medley's retaliatory termination of plaintiff. There is no such evidence in this record. [7] The only evidence that conceivably could point in that direction is Ziegler's suggestion to Medley, after Medley expressed his desire to terminate plaintiff, that Medley reduce plaintiff's hours in the hope that she might quit her job. But that evidence cannot demonstrate that International ratified Medley's termination of plaintiff, because the uncontradicted evidence at trial was that, unbeknownst to Ziegler, Medley already had reduced plaintiff's hours, before Ziegler made the suggestion, in an effort to get plaintiff to quit. The Court of Appeals stated that Ziegler's suggestion to cut plaintiff's hours was evidence that International ratified Medley's retaliation against plaintiff. Jensen, 170 Or.App. at 56, 11 P.3d 678. However, based on the legal standard described above, ratification cannot occur unless the principal, with knowledge of the material facts, intends to ratify the act. International could not have intended to ratify conduct that it was not even aware of at the time that the purported ratification took place. Moreover, International lacked knowledge of the material facts, including the very conduct that it is alleged to have ratified, at the time of the asserted ratification. And there is no other evidence of any ratification by International of Local's reduction in plaintiff's hours or termination of plaintiff's employment. Because there was no evidence to support International's liability for punitive damages on the ground that it ratified the wrongful conduct of Medley and Local, the trial court erred in denying International's motions for a directed verdict and for judgment not withstanding the verdict on the punitive damages claim. As there is no basis on this record for the punitive damages award against International, we do not discuss the parties' arguments regarding the amount of punitive damages.