Rodriguez

I. INTRODUCTION

A jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff Andrew Rodriguez, a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (the Sheriff’s Department) and against defendant the County of Los Angeles (the County), on plaintiff’s claims for hostile work environment harassment and retaliation in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA; Gov. Code, § 12900 et seq.).1 The trial court subsequently granted plaintiff’s motion for an award of attorney fees. On appeal, the County argues: there was insufficient evidence to support the verdicts; the jury instructions and special verdict form were erroneous and prejudiced the County; the $8.1 million damages award was not supported by the evidence and excessive; and the attorney fees award must be reversed if the judgment is reversed. We conclude that although there was substantial evidence to support the verdicts, the judgment and attorney fees order must be reversed in light of the trial court’s delivery of erroneous and prejudicial jury instructions. We will therefore remand this cause for a new trial.

Further statutory references are to the Government Code unless otherwise indicated.

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