Deborah Kiely vs. Teradyne, Inc.
Case Details
- Citation
- 85 Mass. App. Ct. 431
- Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
- appeal
- State
- Massachusetts
- Circuit
- 1st Circuit
Related Laws
No specific laws identified for this ruling.
Claim Types
Outcome
Jury found for plaintiff on retaliation claim but awarded no compensatory damages and $1.1 million in punitive damages; appellate court vacated punitive damages award but upheld retaliation verdict, finding no basis for punitive damages under Massachusetts law. Plaintiff also denied attorney's fees.
Excerpt
Deborah Kiely vs. Teradyne, Inc. Nos. 13-P-505 & 13-P-1217. Suffolk. March 7, 2014. - June 6, 2014. Present: Kafker, Fecteau, & Agnes, JJ. Anti-Discrimination Law, Employment, Sex, Damages, Attorney’s fees. Employment, Discrimination, Retaliation. Damages, Under anti-discrimination law, Attorney’s fees. Practice, Civil, Judgment notwithstanding verdict, Instructions to jury. In an employment discrimination action in which the jury found in favor of the plaintiff on her retaliation claim but declined to award any compensatory damages, the trial judge did not err in allowing the defendant’s post-judgment motion to vacate the jury’s award of punitive damages, where the judge thoroughly addressed the relevant factors and correctly concluded that the evidence, viewed most favorably to the plaintiff, did not show conduct by the defendant that was so outrageous or egregious as to warrant public condemnation and punishment [434-441]; further, in these circumstances, the judge correctly denied the plaintiff’s postjudgment motion for attorney’s fees under G. L. c. 151B, § 9, where a finding of retaliation alone, unaccompanied by any form of relief or recovery, could not support an award of attorney’s fees under that statute [442-448], In a civil action alleging claims of gender discrimination and retaliation in employment arising from the defendant’s decision not to rehire the plaintiff, there was no error in the judge’s decision not to give a separate instruction regarding the defendant’s termination of the plaintiff’s employment, where the plaintiff did not allege, and the evidence did not support, a claim that her termination, by itself, was discriminatory [441-442]; likewise, the judge’s decision to not instruct the jury regarding the plaintiff’s statistical evidence was soundly within her discretion and consistent with the record evidence [442], In a civil action alleging, inter alla, a claim of retaliation in employment arising from the defendant’s decision not to rehire the plaintiff, the trial judge did not err in denying the defendant’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, where the evidence, although not compelling, was sufficient to retain the plaintiff’s verdict. [442] Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on December 30, 2008. The case was tried before Geraldine S. Hines, J., and motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for attorney’s fees were heard by her. Emma Marion Quinn-Judge for the plaintiff. Jonathan D. Rosenfeld for the defendant. James A.W. Shaw, for National Employment Lawyers Association & others, amici curiae, submitted a brief. Fecteau, J. These two separately docketed appeals arise from the same underlying case, namely, claims brought by the plaintiff Deborah Kiely against the defendant, Teradyne, Inc. (Teradyne), for gender discrimination and retaliation. After an eight-day trial, the jury found for Teradyne on Kiely’s discrimination claim and for Kiely on her retaliation claim; although Kiely failed to obtain any award of compensatory damages from the jury, they did award her $1.1 million in punitive damages. Acting upon Teradyne’s timely postjudgment motion under Mass.R. Civ.P. 50(b), as amended, 428 Mass. 1402 (1998), the trial judge denied Teradyne’s request for full judgment notwithstanding the verdict (judgment n.o.v.) but allowed its alternative request to vacate, in its entirety, the jury’s award of punitive damages. The judge also denied Kiely’s motion for attorney’s fees under G. L. c. 151B, § 9, as she was not a “prevailing party.” Case No. 13-P-505 concerns Kiely’s appeal from the modified judgment, in which she contends that her gender discrimination claim must be remanded for a new trial due to the trial judge’s failure to give certain jury instructions and that the judge erred in vacating the award of punitive damages on the retaliation claim. In its cross appeal, Teradyne contends that the judge erred in denying its motion for judgment n.o.v. as to Kiely’s retaliation claim. We discern no error in the trial judge’s jury instructions, her decision to vacate the jury’s award of punitive damages, or her denial of the defendant’s motion for judgment n.o.v. In No. 13-P-1217, Kiely contends separately that the judge erred in denying her postjudgment motion for attorney’s fees under G. L. c. 151B, § 9, even in the absence of compensatory or punitive damages. We disagree and affirm this order. 1. Background. Kiely worked at Teradyne from 1982 until 2006, primarily as a test technician in Teradyne’s global customer services (GCS) department, which was responsible for repairing computer circuit boards returned to Teradyne from its customers around the world. In 2004, Kiely was promoted to group leader in the GCS repair group, a position that involved less repair work and more administrative duties. Between 2000 and 2006, by a series of layoffs, Teradyne reduced the number of GCS test technicians from approximately thirty-one to three. Kiely survived these layoffs until November 2, 2006, when the last group of three test technicians, Kiely, Dennis Hodgdon, and Steve Senecal, were told they would be laid off effective December 2, 2006. Kiely filed a gender discrimination charge before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) on November 21, 2006, with notice being sent to Teradyne’s general counsel’s office and a human resources (HR) manager, Bill Bums. Shortly after these layoffs, Teradyne’s assembly test division (ATD), a different department from GCS where Kiely had been working, recognized a need for two test technicians to service a particular account. Jay Fitton, a manager in the ATD department, was designated to make the hiring decisions; he learned that Kiely, Hodgdon, and Senecal were the last three employees to have been let go from GCS and so he considered them for the two positions. Contrary to Teradyne’s usual practice, none of the three was offered an interview or told that they were being considered for the newly available positions. Bums, the HR manager, instmcted Susan Blair, another HR manager, to tell Fitton to document the hiring decision. This directive was also a departure from Teradyne’s typical hiring practice. Fitton testified, without contradiction, that the HR department never explained the reasons why he was told to document the hiring process or that Kiely had filed a discrimination charge at the MCAD. Ultimately, the ATD department rehired Hodgdon, by December 6, 2006, and Senecal, by January 15, 2007. Fitton admitted that his inquiries concluded, as a practical matter, after learning of the technical skills of Hodgdon and Senecal, but that he had not learned of Kiely’s. In a memorandum explaining his decision, Fitton stated he based his decision to rehire Hodgdon and Senecal on their superior qualifications as test technicians and on the fact that Kiely’s most recent experience had been mostly administrative. 2. Discussion, a. Punitive damages. We first address Kiely’s claim that the trial judge erred in allowing Teradyne’s postjudgment motion to vacate the jury’s award of punitive damages. When considering a defendant’s motion for judgment n.o.v., “the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and all evidence favorable to the [defendant] is disregarded.” Ciccarelli v. School Dept. of Lowell, 70 Mass. App. Ct. 787, 791 (2007). The verdict must be sustained if “anywhere in the evidence, from whatever source derived, any combination of circumstances could be found from which a reasonable inference could be drawn in favor of the plaintiff.” Haddad v. WalMart Stores, Inc. (No. 1), 455 Mass. 91, 94 n.5 (2009), quoting from Boothby v. Texon, Inc., 414 Mass. 468, 470 (1993). Motions for judgment n.o.v. should be granted “cautiously and sparingly,” Wright & Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure § 2524, at 248 (3d ed. 2008), and should be granted only if the trial judge is satisfied that the jury “failed to exercise an honest and reasonable judgment in accordance with the controlling principles of law,” Turnpike Motors, Inc. v. Newbury Group, Inc., 413 Mass. 119, 127 (1992), quoting from Robertson v. Gaston Snow & Ely Bartlett, 404 Mass. 515, 520, cert, denied, 493 U.S. 894 (1989). However, a party cannot avoid entry of judgment n.o.v. if any essential element of her case rests on a “mere scintilla” of evidence. Stapleton v. Macchi, 401 Mass. 725, 728 (1988), quoting from Hartmann v. Boston Herald-Traveler Corp., 323 Mass. 56, 59 (1948). “Chapter 151B provides for the award of punitive damages in appropriate cases. Such damages ‘may be awarded for conduct that is outrageous, because of the defendant’s evil motive or his reckless indifference to the rights of others.’ ” Ciccarelli v. School Dept. of Lowell, 70 Mass. App. Ct. at 795, quoting from Dartt v. Browning-Ferris Indus., Inc. (Mass.), 427 Mass. 1, 17a (1998). “An award of punitive damages requires a determination of the defendant’s intent or state of mind, determinations properly left to the jury, whose verdict should be sustained if it could ‘reasonably have [been] arrived at . . . from any . . . evidence . . . presented.’ ” Haddad v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (No. 1), 455 Mass, at 107, quoting from Dartt v. Browning-Ferris Indus., Inc. (Mass.), supra at 16. Nonetheless, “the award of punitive damages cannot be left to the unguided discretion of the jury.” Bain v. Springfield, 424 Mass. 758, 769 (1997). Such a review of punitive damages is essential given that they implicate constitutional principles. As the Supreme Judicial Court stated in Aleo v. SLB Toys USA, Inc., 466 Mass. 398, 412-413 (2013) (citations omitted), “The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution . . . prohibits the imposition of a ‘ “grossly excessive” punishment’ on a tortfeasor. ‘Elementary notions of fairness enshrined in our constitutional jurisprudence dictate that a person receive fair notice not only of the conduct that will subject him to punishment, but also of the severity of the penalty that a State may impose.’ ” Accordingly, “[t]o the extent an award is grossly excessive, it furthers no legitimate purpose and constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of property.” Id. at 413, quoting from State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. 408, 417 (2003). In Haddad v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (No. 1), 455 Mass, at 110-111 (Haddad), the Supreme Judicial Court articulated the standard for an award of punitive damages under G. L. c. 151B: “Punitive damages may be awarded only where the defendant’s conduct is outrageous or egregious. Punitive damages are warranted where the conduct is so offensive that it justifies punishment and not merely compensation. In making an award of punitive damages, the fact finder should determine that the award is needed to deter such behavior toward the class of which plaintiff is a member, or that the defendant’s behavior is so egregious that it warrants public condemnation and punishment.” Whether a plaintiff has met this standard of “outrageous or egregious” conduct is to be measured by applying a number of nonexclusive factors set out in Haddad, supra at 111: (1) “whether there was a conscious or purposeful effort to demean or diminish the class of which the plaintiff is a part (or the plaintiff because he or she is a member of the class)”; (2) “whether the defendant was aware that the discriminatory conduct would likely cause serious harm, or recklessly disregarded the likelihood that serious harm would arise”; (3) “the actual harm to the plaintiff”; (4) “the defendant’s conduct after learning that the initial conduct would likely cause harm”; and (5) “the duration of the wrongful conduct and any concealment of that conduct by the defendant.” In her memorandum, the trial judge thoroughly addressed the Haddad factors and concluded, correctly in our view, that the evidence, even viewed most favorably to Kiely, did not show conduct by Teradyne that was so outrageous or egregious as to warrant public condemnation and punishment. As an initial matter, we reject Kiely’s argument that a showing on a single Haddad factor is sufficient to support an award of punitive damages. Such a position directly conflicts with the settled principle that “mere liability” is insufficient to sustain an award for punitive damages. Id. at 110. If a single factor, like factor three, actual harm to the plaintiff, id. at 111, was sufficient to uphold such an award, then punitive damages could be awarded in virtually every discrimination case in which a jury awards some compensatory damages. We also note that the judge considered not giving an instruction on punitive damages as she doubted whether the evidence presented at trial supported such an award. However, in an abundance of caution, the trial judge reasoned the better course was to submit the question to the jury to avoid the possibility that a reversal would require another jury trial. The judge wisely waited until after the close of evidence, the verdict, and the parties’ postverdict briefing to correctly conclude upon further reflection that the award of punitive damages could not be sustained. As the judge noted, only one of the Haddad factors weighs in favor of Kiely. As to the first factor, the jury’s rejection of Kiely’s gender discrimination claim seriously undermines any suggestion that Teradyne’s action in failing to rehire Kiely was part of a conscious or purposeful effort to demean females as a class (or to demean Kiely because of being female). Nevertheless, we note that the Supreme Judicial Court fashioned the Haddad standard “specifically for discrimination claims,” 455 Mass, at 110, and therefore, this factor may be less relevant in a retaliation case such as this, where the question is whether Kiely was singled out for engaging in a protected activity, rather than being part of a protected class. Second, the jury could reasonably have concluded that Teradyne was aware or should have known that not rehiring Kiely would inflict serious harm (the second Haddad factor). Teradyne was aware that Kiely was seeking reemployment, as she inquired about open positions at least three times. Kiely also had spent her entire technical career at Teradyne and was grandfathered into generous benefits. Although factor two favors Kiely, importantly, the jury found no actual harm (the third Haddad factor) in that they awarded no compensatory damages. See Labonte v. Hutchins & Wheeler, 424 Mass. 813, 827 (1997) (“Where, as here, there is no cap on punitive damages, a judge or an appellate court must scrutinize the relationship between actual damages and the award of punitive damages”). Contrary to Kiely’s argument, there is nothing in the record to suggest that the jury were confused about the damages that they could award and how they should apportion them. Kiely’s contention that the jury may have folded damages for the harm she suffered into their award of punitive damages is mere speculation. The jury instructions clearly described and delineated the damages — compensatory and punitive — available for their consideration; moreover, the special verdict form differentiated between the separate forms of damages. Most significant is the lack of evidence as to Haddad factors four and five in that there was no evidence at trial that the defendant took any adverse action against Kiely beyond the retaliation itself. Kiely asserts that the jury’s apparent disbelief of Fitton’s testimony that he was unaware of Kiely’s MCAD complaint at the time he made the rehiring decision, which is the apparent basis for the retaliation verdict, is also proof that Teradyne attempted to cover up its wrongdoing. However, the fact that the jury drew an inference against Fit-ton does not equate with positive evidence that he lied or that Teradyne orchestrated a cover-up. Since there is no affirmative evidence, beyond this inference, that the defendant orchestrated a cover-up of its wrongdoing, or that there were other aggravating factors beyond the retaliation itself, the jury’s award of punitive damages cannot stand. See, e.g., Dalrymple v. Winthrop, 50 Mass. App. Ct. 611, 621 (2000) (punitive damages warranted where defendant police chief who was “charged with the public duty to enforce the law equally [was] shown to have deliberately violated it for reprehensible reasons”); Ciccarelli v. School Dept. of Lowell, 70 Mass. App. Ct. at 796-797 (punitive damages upheld where there was affirmative evidence of attempted concealment of wrongdoing and where defendant had public duty to enforce law equally). This is especially true where, as mentioned above, the jury found no actual harm to Kiely. See Aleo v. SLB Toys USA, Inc., 466 Mass, at 415, quoting from BMW of N. America, Inc. v. Gore, 517 U.S. 559, 580 (1996) (“The second and perhaps most commonly cited indicium of an unreasonable or excessive punitive damages award is its ratio to the actual harm inflicted on the plaintiff”). Therefore, this case is in contrast to those cases where there was affirmative evidence of an attempted concealment of wrongful conduct. For example, in Ciccarelli v. School Dept. of Lowell, 70 Mass. App. Ct. at 798, this court upheld an award of punitive damages where the jury could have found that a deputy superintendent’s testimony was false and was designed to facilitate a cover-up of her wrongdoing. In that case, the city’s deputy superintendent of personnel, Flanagan, made the decision not to rehire the plaintiff, Ciccarelli, four days after learning that Ciccarelli appeared on the witness list on behalf of a coworker, Kealy, in Kealy’s MCAD case against the school district. Id. at 789-790, 796. Flanagan claimed her reason for failing to rehire Ciccarelli was that Ciccarelli had not completed coursework toward advanced certification, despite the fact that this was the first criticism of Ciccarelli’s progress and she still had three years to complete the coursework. Id. at 789-790. Significantly, Flanagan was an active participant in the Kealy case and was even present at the defense table when Ciccarelli testified at Kealy’s MCAD hearing in 1997. Id. at 794 & n.3. However, at trial in Ciccarelli’s court case, Flanagan testified that, until her deposition in 2002, she was unaware that Ciccarelli had testified on Kealy’s behalf. Id. at 790-791. Therefore, in Ciccarelli, there was affirmative evidence that Flanagan not only lied on the stand about her recollection of Ciccarelli’s role in the MCAD case, but also fabricated an excuse for her wrongful conduct in failing to rehire Ciccarelli. See Hall v. Ochs, 817 F.2d 920, 928 (1st Cir. 1987) (“[A] factfinder might infer that the stark clash could not have resulted from innocent misrecollection, and that its intentional quality intensified any need the jury may have found for punishment and deterrence”). Likewise, in Hall v. Ochs, supra at 927-928, the court upheld an award of punitive damages where the defendant police officers argued that the plaintiff’s testimony against them was deliberately false and they provided a highly suspect police report to support their allegations. By contrast, in this case, the defendant’s conduct after learning that its failure to rehire Kiely would likely cause harm, and whether the defendant purposely concealed its wrongful conduct, were, as the judge noted, “left to the realm of speculation as these issues were not addressed directly or indirectly by the evidence at trial.” As the Supreme Judicial Court made clear in Haddad, 455 Mass, at 110, “[t]o sustain an award of punitive damages under G. L. c. 151B, § 4, a finding of intentional discrimination alone is not sufficient.” Likewise here, a finding of retaliation alone is insufficient to support the jury’s award of $1.1 million in punitive damages; “[a]n award of punitive damages requires a heightened finding beyond mere liability and also beyond a knowing violation of the statute
Similar Rulings
Browse Related
Facing something similar at work?
Court rulings like this one are useful, but every situation is different. Take 2 minutes to see which laws may protect you — it's free, private, and no account is required to start.
This ruling information is sourced from public court records via CourtListener.com. Case outcomes, claim types, and summaries are extracted using AI analysis and may be incomplete or inaccurate. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
See something wrong, or named in this ruling and want it corrected or redacted? Request a correction.