Jones

INTRODUCTION

During the jury trial of Chasity Jones’s sexual harassment and related claims against her former boss Alkiviades David, and her employers, FilmOn.TV, Inc. and Hologram USA, Inc. (collectively defendants), David admitted to egregious workplace conduct including screening an obscene video, permitting an exotic dancer to perform in the office, and frequently walking around with his pants down and his genitals tucked between his legs. The jury returned a special verdict largely in Jones’s favor and awarded her $591,300 in economic damages, $1,500,000 in past noneconomic damages, and $1,000,000 in future noneconomic damages. After a second phase of trial at which David disregarded a court order to be present, the jury awarded Jones $8,000,000 in punitive damages against David only. Defendants moved for new trial on several grounds, including insufficient evidence of economic and punitive damages, excessive damages, inconsistent verdicts, and erroneous evidentiary rulings. Defendants subsequently sought to supplement their new trial motion to argue that Jones’s claim of gender violence was not properly pleaded and therefore impermissibly tried. The trial court denied the…