Gerald P. Lampley v. Onyx Acceptance Corp.

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• upholding an award of $75,000 in compensatory damages when the employee’s improper termination had lingering negative effects on the employee’s mental state
• distinguishing a case in which it diminished an award supported by “only 14 lines of testimony address[ing] emotional distress” from Lampley, in which it chose not to diminish an award because, in part, “there were numerous pages of testimony regarding emotional distress”
• “Reflecting our general deference to jury verdicts, we have never required the district court to adjust a jury’s punitive damages verdict so that it is proportional, in the court’s view, to the defendant’s wickedness. Such proportional adjustments are left to the jury itself.”
• where the evidence supports a finding that the employer engaged in a coverup in flagrant violation of Title VII, a large punitive damage award is warranted
• evidence of “negative effects on [plaintiff’s] emotional state” supported rational connection to compensatory damages award
• punitive damages of $270,000 compared to $30,000 in compensatory damages, or ratio of 9 to 1, would be acceptable

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).