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Plaintiff lost on both breach of contract and whistleblower claims at trial, but appellate court vacated the excessive attorneys' fees award and remanded for recalculation, holding that fees on a HWPA whistleblower claim cannot exceed 25% of the assumpsit claim damages.
Knowles v. Hawaii Pacific University
What Happened
Knowles worked at Hawaii Pacific University and filed a lawsuit claiming the employer broke their employment contract and retaliated against them for reporting problems (whistleblower claim). Knowles also alleged the university took negative action in response to this complaint.
What the Court Decided
At trial, the court ruled against Knowles on both the contract breach and whistleblower claims. However, the appeals court found a problem with the fees the losing side had to pay. The appeals court cancelled those excessive attorney fees and ordered the lower court to recalculate them properly. Importantly, the court ruled that fees related to whistleblower claims cannot exceed 25% of the damages from the main contract dispute.
Why This Matters for Workers
This case shows that whistleblower protection claims have specific limits on attorney fees that employers must follow. While Knowles didn't win the case, the appeals court's decision protects workers by ensuring that fee calculations follow proper rules and don't become excessive burdens on employers fighting these claims.
This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.
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