PLAINTIFF RECOVERS ONLY $8,000, BUT EMPLOYER HAS TO PAY PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY $104,000

A recent case demonstrates a dilemma many employers face in defending legal claims. A plaintiff employee may successfully sue and recover only a small amount of money, but under the various discrimination laws, the laws generally provide for the employer to pay the prevailing plaintiff's attorneys' fees.

In a recent decision, the plaintiff's employee obtained less than $8,000.00 in damages, but the federal appeals court required his employer to pay his attorneys' fees of more than $104,000.00. Diaz v. Jiten Hotel Management, Inc., 121 FEP Cases 1 (C.A. 1, 2013).

Editor's Note: The author can't resist telling the story of a case he tried in Alabama some 20 years ago. The plaintiff was a young male employee who claimed he was sexually harassed by his attractive but older female supervisor (the plaintiff was engaged and his fiancé heard about the situation). Both the employer and the female supervisor were sued for sexual harassment, and also the employer for retaliation because the plaintiff complained about the harassment, and shortly thereafter was laid off. The employer tried to settle the case, but the plaintiff's settlement demands were six figures.

The jury returned a verdict against the employer for $15,000, and against the female supervisor for $1 (this is not a misprint). The author was heavily congratulated by the client for the "victory" because the jury verdicts were so low in comparison to the plaintiff's pre-trial settlement offers. Unfortunately, the employer later paid the plaintiff's attorney fees, a bill of some $60,000.