HOWARD v. CANTEEN CORPORATION
Case Details
- Citation
- 192 Mich. App. 427
- Judge(s)
- Before: Cavanagh, P.J., and Neff and W. R. Beasley, JJ.
- Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
- appeal
- State
- Michigan
Related Laws
No specific laws identified for this ruling.
Claim Types
Outcome
Plaintiff Carol Howard prevailed on claims for sex discrimination (failure to promote, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination) and breach of contract. The court awarded $299,530 in damages plus interest, costs, and attorney fees, though the appellate court remanded for recalculation of attorney fees and reduction of future wage loss damages to present value.
Excerpt
HOWARD v CANTEEN CORPORATION Docket No. 120825. Submitted May 13, 1991, at Detroit. Decided October 15, 1991; approved for publication January 15, 1992, at 9:00 a.m. Carol J. Howard brought an action in the Wayne Circuit Court against Canteen Corporation and David Spender, alleging breach of an employment contract and sexual discrimination as a result of the defendants’ failure to promote her, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination of her employment. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff on the claims for breach of contract and sex discrimination, and the court, Louis F. Simmons, Jr., J., entered a judgment for $299,530 plus interest, costs, and attorney fees. The defendants appealed from the denial of their motions for directed verdict, judgment notwithstanding the verdict, a new trial, and remittitur. The Court of Appeals held: 1. There was sufficient evidence of sexual discrimination on the basis of the failure to promote, sexual harassment, retaliation, and wrongful discharge and of breach of contract to send the case to the jury and to support its verdicts regarding those claims. The trial court did not err in denying the defendants’ motions for directed verdict or judgment notwithstanding the verdict. 2. The award of $200,000 for mental anguish, emotional distress, and humiliation associated with the sex discrimination claims was supported by the evidence and was not excessive. The court did not abuse its discretion in denying the defendants’ motion for remittitur. 3. The court did not abuse its discretion in denying the defendants’ motion for a new trial. 4. A remand is necessary for an evidentiary hearing regarding the reasonableness of the attorney fees awarded to the _plaintiff because the defendants were not provided a sufficient opportunity to challenge the affidavits and other documentary evidence in support of the requested fees and the trial court did not make findings of fact with regard to the attorney fee issue. References Am Jur 2d, Costs §§ 72, 79, 261; Damages §§ 143, 144, 678; Job Discrimination § 2498. Effect of anticipated inflation on damages for future losses — modern cases. 21 ALR4th 21. 5. The use of a multiplier for the attorney fees granted under the Civil Rights Act was not justified under the circumstances of this case, and, therefore, the portion of the attorney fees awarded that are attributable to the multiplier is vacated. 6. The award of attorney fees under both the Civil Rights Act and MCR 2.403(0) was appropriate because each provision serves an independent policy or purpose. The court, on remand, must determine the reasonableness of the fees awarded as mediation sanctions. 7. The court erred in failing to reduce the award for damages for the plaintiffs future wage loss to present value or to instruct the jury to do so. Inflation is a factor that may be considered in assessing damages, but a court may not employ it to omit the present-value reduction. Remand is required for the court to reduce the future wage loss award to present value. Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. 1. Attorney and Client — Attorney Fees. Each party in a lawsuit ordinarily bears its own attorney fees unless there is express statutory authorization to the contrary. 2. Civil Rights — Attorney Fees — Findings of Fact. A trial court, in its discretion, may award reasonable attorney fees in cases involving violations of the Civil Rights Act; the court, where attorney fees are to be awarded, must determine the reasonable amount of fees according to the nonexclusive list of factors and guidelines set forth in Wood v DAIIE, 413 Mich 573 (1982), and, while not required to detail its findings regarding each specific factor, it is required to make findings of fact with regard to the issue of attorney fees (MCL 37.2802; MSA 3.548[802]). 3. Attorney and Client — Attorney Fees — Evidentiary Hearings. The party seeking an award of attorney fees bears the burden of establishing entitlement and documenting the appropriate hours expended and hourly rates; where the opposing party challenges the reasonableness of the requested fee, the trial court should hold an evidentiary hearing regarding the issue, and, if any of the underlying facts are in dispute, the court should make findings of fact regarding those issues. 4. Attorney and Client — Attorney Fees. A reasonable attorney fee is presumed to be based on a reasonable hourly rate multiplied by a reasonable number of hours expended; a trial court’s discretion to increase such a presumptively reasonable attorney fee is limited to rare circumstances where the attorney’s work is so superior and outstanding that it far exceeds client expectations and normal levels of competence, or where it is necessary for attracting competent counsel. 5. Civil Rights — Attorney Fees — Mediation Sanctions. Reasonable attorney fees may be awarded under both the court rule governing mediation sanctions and the attorney fee provision of the Civil Rights Act in an appropriate case because each provision serves an independent policy or purpose (MCR 2.403[O]; MCL 37.2802; MSA 3.548[802]). 6. Damages — Future Losses — Present Value. An award of damages for future losses must be reduced to its present cash value; a trial court faced with such an award either must instruct the jury regarding such reduction or reduce the award to its present value. . 7. Damages — Future Losses — Inflation. Inflation is a factor that may be considered in assessing damages, but it does not entitle a trial court to ignore the duty to reduce to present value an award of damages for future losses. Kelman, Loria, Downing, Schneider & Simpson (by Janet M. Tooley), for the plaintiff. Clark, Klein & Beaumont (by P. Robert Brown, Jr., Dorothy M. Basmaji, Amy Bateson, Sheryl A. Moody, and Nancy J. Gordon), for the defendants. Before: Cavanagh, P.J., and Neff and W. R. Beasley, JJ. Former Court of Appeals judge, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment. Per Curiam. In this gender-based discrimination case, defendants appeal as of right from a judgment entered on a jury verdict of approximately $300,000. They also claim that the trial court erred in denying their posttrial motions for directed verdict, judgment notwithstanding the verdiet, a new trial, and remittitur. We affirm in part and reverse in part. Plaintiff, Carol Howard, began working at defendant Canteen’s Cadillac 5 cafeteria as a shift supervisor in 1982. In September 1984, defendant David Spender was hired as manager of Cadillac 5. Plaintiff claims that Spender performed several acts and made several statements that constituted sexual harassment. Shortly before plaintiff left Canteen’s employ, she had a meeting with Bernard Palko, manager of food services, and Spender regarding her complaints where Spender claimed that, rather than harassing, he was only complimenting plaintiff in the things he had said. Plaintiff believed that the two men were only trying to appease her and that she was not going to get anywhere with her complaint. Spender told plaintiff after the meeting that she would be terminated, removed, or reprimanded, and that he was going to make sure she was transferred out of Cadillac 5. During plaintiff’s last week of employment, Palko told her that she was being transferred to the Cadillac Main account, which was located in a dangerous neighborhood in Detroit and was a farther distance from her home. She protested the transfer, which was obviously undesirable for her, as being made only because Spender could not be controlled. She turned down the transfer because of the way it was handled, it would cause her financial hardship, she did not have reliable transportation to drive the farther distance, she would not be getting extra income, and her feelings regarding her safety. Palko told her that if she did not transfer, she would be considered terminated. Plaintiff did not return to work for Canteen. In February 1986, plaintiff filed suit against defendants, alleging, among other things, breach of contract and sexual discrimination as a result of defendants’ failure to promote her, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination of her employment. These issues were thoroughly ventilated before the jury, and, after trial, the jury returned a verdict in plaintiff’s favor on both the breach of contract and sex discrimination claims. The trial court entered a judgment for $299,530, plus interest, costs, and attorney fees. Defendants filed motions for directed verdict, judgment notwithstanding the verdict, a new trial, and remittitur, which were denied. Defendants appeal. First, defendants claim the trial court erred in denying their motions for directed verdict or judgment notwithstanding the verdict because there was insufficient evidence to send the case to the jury or to support the verdicts for sexual discrimination and breach of contract. When deciding motions for directed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict, the trial court must view the evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Relief is required where insufficient evidence is presented to create an issue for the jury. Conversely, relief is not required where reasonable minds could differ on issues of fact. We will not disturb the trial court’s decision unless there has been a clear abuse of discretion. To establish a prima facie case of sex discrimination, the plaintiff must show membership in a class protected under the Civil Rights Act and that, for the same or similar conduct, the plaintiff was treated differently than a member of the opposite sex. If the defendant employer asserts legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for its actions, the plaintiff must then show that the reasons asserted were a mere pretext for discrimination. With regard to plaintiff’s claim of sexual discrimination regarding the failure to promote her to the Cadillac 5 manager position, for which she had requested consideration, defendants argue that plaintiff did not present sufficient evidence to support her claim because Spender was more qualified for the position than she was. However, plaintiff presented evidence that she had supervisory experience before coming to work for Canteen in 1982, she had filled in for the manager at another location on numerous occasions, she had managed both shifts of the Cadillac 5 cafeteria for a few weeks before Spender was hired, and she had generally fulfilled all the job duties of a manager at some point in time. Additionally, she was told by Palko to try to assist and guide a previous manager because she had more experience. Viewing this and the other evidence of discrimination in a light most favorable to plaintiff, a jury question was raised regarding whether plaintiff had shown, by a preponderance of the evidence, that she applied for an available position for which she was qualified but was rejected under circumstances giving rise to an inference of unlawful conduct and that sex discrimination played a significant role in the decision to deny plaintiff the promotion._ With regard to plaintiffs claim of sexual harassment, defendants argue that plaintiff did not present sufficient evidence to establish either quid pro quo sexual harassment or sexual harassment that results from a hostile or offensive work environment. However, the jury heard testimony that Spender would inquire into plaintiffs personal life, asking why she was divorced and how she could get a younger man like Michael Hobson, her live-in boyfriend who also worked on her shift at Cadillac 5; that Spender asked if plaintiff paid Hobson for his sexual favors, how she could keep up with a younger man, and why she was not more sociable with a man of Spender’s age; and that Spender also told plaintiff that if it were not for Hobson, he and plaintiff would be "closer” and they would have a better "working relationship.” Additionally, the jury heard testimony that Spender would open, read, and throw away plaintiffs mail, would go through her purse, and had grabbed a personal check out of her hand, and that he told plaintiff that women should not work out in public, that she was too aggressive, and that she was wasting her time because the company did not promote women to upper management positions, but rather would stick them in lower management positions just to keep various women’s groups happy. The jury also heard testimony that Spender told plaintiff she was not going to go anywhere unless she cooperated and that Spender was responsible for food shortage problems that occurred two or three times a week. This evidence, if accepted by the jury, was sufficient to show, at least, sexual harassment resulting from a hostile or offensive work environment. Regarding plaintiffs claim of sexual discrimination concerning retaliation, defendants argue that there was nothing of an actionable nature to retaliate against, that there was no evidence of retaliation, and that plaintiffs claim of retaliation based on her transfer to Cadillac Main was pure speculation. However, plaintiff testified that, after the meeting between Palko, Spender, and herself, Spender told her she would be terminated, removed, or reprimanded and that Spender would make sure plaintiff was moved out of his account. Soon afterward, plaintiff was told she must transfer to what was for her a much less desirable situation. Further, when plaintiff refused to transfer, Canteen hired a person "off the street” to fill the position, which tends to render quite unbelievable defendants’ claim that this was a promotion or growing experience for plaintiff. Viewing this evidence in a light most favorable to plaintiff, there was ample evidence for the jury to reasonably find that the elements of plaintiffs retaliation claim were proved. With regard to plaintiffs claim of sexual discrimination concerning her discharge, there was sufficient evidence to support the jury’s findings. Plaintiff was terminated immediately after she refused the transfer to Cadillac Main. She presented evidence that, in the context of this case, working conditions there were so difficult or unpleasant that a reasonable person in her shoes would have felt compelled to resign and that such action was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of Canteen’s conduct. As indicated, there was evidence that plaintiffs employment situation had been made intolerable by discrimination and sexual harassment and that her employment situation was further aggravated by a transfer to an undesirable location. Defendants also argue that there was insufficient evidence to support plaintiffs claim of breach of contract. However, plaintiff testified that Palko had told plaintiff that as long as she was familiar with the company’s policies, followed those policies, and did her job well, she would have a future with Canteen. Such verbal statements can give rise to a contract that an employee will be discharged only for just cause. In addition, Palko testified that it was Canteen’s policy not to terminate employees without a fair reason or just cause. Thus, plaintiff presented sufficient evidence to support her claim for breach of contract. Viewing all the evidence in a light most favorable to plaintiff, we do not find that the trial court abused its discretion in denying defendants’ motions for directed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Second, defendants claim that the evidence was insufficient to support the $200,000 damage award for mental anguish, emotional distress, and humiliation with regard to the discrimination count, and they contend that the trial court erred in denying their motion for remittitur. Victims of discrimination may recover for the humiliation, embarrassment, disappointment, and other forms of mental anguish resulting from the discrimination, and medical testimony substantiating the claim is not required. When a verdict is within the range of the evidence produced at trial, it should not be reversed as excessive. With regard to remittitur, the only consideration expressly authorized by the remittitur court rule, MCR 2.611(E)(1), is whether the award is supported by the evidence. However, other objective factors such as whether the verdict was induced by bias or prejudice relating to the actual conduct of the trial or to the evidence adduced may be considered. The testimony indicated that defendants’ actions left plaintiff sad and depressed and that she is still dealing with her problems today. She is behind in paying her bills and suffers from a medical problem that she believes stems from her work situation. The evidence to support these results is found in the harassment and discrimination inflicted upon her for a lengthy period of time, despite her complaints to Palko. Under these circumstances, we do not believe the award was excessive, nor do we believe, giving deference to the trial court that personally observed the witnesses and heard the testimony, that the trial court abused its discretion in denying defendants’ motion for remittitur. Third, defendants claim that the trial court abused its discretion in denying their motion for a new trial because of numerous errors or irregularities in the trial proceedings. We have reviewed each of defendants’ alleged errors and do not find that the trial court abused its discretion so as to justify a new trial. Fourth, defendants claim that the trial court erred in its award of attorney fees. They contend that the attorney fees requested and granted were unreasonable, that the use of a multiplier for the fees granted under the Civil Rights Act was not justified, and that an additional award of attorney fees as a mediation sanction constituted double-dipping. The "American Rule” provides that each party in a lawsuit ordinarily bears its own attorney fees unless there is express statutory authorization to the contrary. MCL 37.2802; MSA 3.548(802) provides the authority to award reasonable attorney fees in state civil rights cases. The decision to grant or deny attorney fees under the Civil Rights Act is discretionary with the trial court. Where attorney fees are to be awarded, the court must determine the reasonable amount of fees according to the nonexclusive list of factors and guidelines set forth in Wood v DAIIE. While the court is not required to detail its findings regarding each specific factor, it is required to make findings of fact with regard to the attorney fee issue. The most useful starting point for determining the amount of a reasonable attorney fee is the number of hours reasonably expended on the case multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate. The party seeking the fee bears the burden of establishing entitlement to an award and documenting the appropriate hours expended and hourly rates. In plaintiffs brief in support of her motion for attorney fees submitted to the trial court, plaintiffs attorney claims that she does not keep contemporaneous time records. She stated: It may be noted that Plaintiffs firm does not ordinarily keep contemporaneous billing records, as we are strictly a plaintiffs law firm and rarely bill clients. While such records are not required to be kept, in demanding a large sum of attorney fees the lack of contemporaneous time records leaves room for doubt regarding the reasonableness of the hours expended. Where the opposing party challenges the reasonableness of the requested fee, the trial court should hold an evidentiary hearing regarding the issue. If any of the underlying facts, such as the number of hours spent in preparation, are in dispute, the trial court should make findings of fact regarding the disputed issues. In this case, no evidentiary hearing was held regarding the reasonableness of the attorney fee. Rather, plaintiffs counsel submitted affidavits and other documentary evidence in support of her requested fees, and oral arguments were heard. The trial court, in ruling on the issue, stated: [T]he Court is satisfied that both
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