Attorney Fees And Costs For Favorable Verdict For Retaliation For Taking Medical Leave
The case of Boles v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is an employment law, retaliation, discrimination case for attorney fees and costs following a favorable verdict for the employee. Plaintiff Barry Boles filed a motion for attorney fees and costs following a jury verdict in his favor on his claims of employment discrimination. Defendant Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Plaintiff worked for Wal-Mart and his employment was terminated after taking medical leave. At trial, plaintiff claimed that defendant violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination by retaliating against him for requesting and taking leave and/or by refusing to grant a reasonable extension of his leave. In addition, plaintiff claimed that defendant failed to give him adequate notice of his leave rights and obligations under the Family and Medical Leave Act which interfered with his ability to exercise his rights under the act. Plaintiff sought to recover compensatory damages for past and future economic losses and emotional distress, as well as punitive damages. Prior to the close of plaintiff’s case at trial, plaintiff withdrew his interference with FMLA rights claim. Thus, the only two claims presented to the jury for a verdict were plaintiff’s NJLAD retaliation and failure to accommodate claims. The jury found in favor of defendant on Plaintiff’s failure to accommodate claim and in plaintiff’s favor on his retaliation claim. The jury awarded plaintiff $130,000 in back pay and $10,000 in past emotional distress damages. No front pay was awarded. The matter then proceeded to the punitive damages stage and the jury awarded plaintiff $60,000. The court found that there was ample evidence to support the jury’s findings. While defendant challenged alleged gaps in plaintiff’s case, the jury could have accepted plaintiff’s explanation as to the gaps and focused on the inconsistencies in defendant’s explanation for its treatment of plaintiff. Defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law was denied. Plaintiff successfully litigated a retal-iation claim under NJLAD and was awarded $200,000 ($130,000 for back pay, $10,000 for emotional distress and $60,000 in punitive damages), which claims were supported by ample evidence. Plaintiff was awarded $266,100 in attorney fees, $8,227.23 in costs and $9,924.63 in prejudgment interest for a total award of $284,251.86.
Reference: Case & Analysis, New Jersey Law Journal; 221 N.J.L.J. 1835 (December 7, 2015)
Filed Under: Family and Medical Leave Act; Retaliation; Attorney Fees and Costs
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