In Muniz v. United Parcel Service, Inc., a federal district court in California awarded a plaintiff nearly $700K in attorneys' fees following a jury verdict of $27K on the plaintiff's claim of discriminatory demotion. The plaintiff had originally pursued a broader panoply of claims, including gender- and age- based discrimination, retaliation, negligent supervision and training, and a request for punitive damages. Many of her claims were dismissed or abandoned. Following the verdict, both the plaintiff and the employer requested attorneys' fees as the prevailing party in the action. The court granted the plaintiff's request and, after some reduction, granted her fees in excess of 25 times the amount of her recovery. The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (covering California, among other states) upheld the award. While recognizing the plaintiff's limited success as compared to her original claims, the appellate court found the trial court properly exercised its discretion in awarding the fees, especially given both parties' difficulty of segregating hours spent exclusively on the unsuccessful claims and the plaintiff's success in proving gender-related bias.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.