Iwekaogwu

Francis Egbule Iwekaogwu (Iwekaogwu) was employed as an engineer in the harbor department of the City of Los Angeles (City). While employed there Iwekaogwu, an African-American from Nigeria, complained that he was subjected to discriminatory treatment on the basis of his race and national origin. Eventually he brought this action against the City, alleging claims under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, Government Code section 12900 et seq., for discrimination on the basis of race and national origin, hostile work environment, and retaliation. The jury found in favor of Iwekaogwu on his retaliation claim but was unable to reach a verdict on the other theories of liability. The jury awarded damages in the amount of $775,000.

The City filed posttrial motions arguing that there was insufficient evidence to support the verdict and that a new trial should be granted on grounds of jury misconduct and excessive damages. The court rejected the City’s contentions concerning sufficiency of the evidence and jury misconduct. The court denied the City’s motion for a new trial on damages, conditioned on the plaintiff’s accepting a remittitur reducing the jury’s verdict to…