Suppose a national origin discrimination case goes to a jury trial (I know we’re not having jury trials during this pandemic, but humor me).
The jury comes back with a verdict finding for the Plaintiff-employee. But it awards the Plaintiff just one dollar. Is this a victory?
Before you answer, you should know this happens
Typically, in our court system, we operate under the “American Rule” which means that parties have to pay their own attorneys’ fees in cases, regardless of whether they win or lose. (Contrast that with the English Rule which is a “loser pays” system.)
But there is one big exception to the American Rule — and
Suppose you just defended against a discrimination and harassment lawsuit by two former female employees. The jury found that discrimination
and harassment had occurred. But the jury awarded one employee only $1600 in economic damages and nothing for emotional distress. For the other employee, the jury
In discrimination cases, when a plaintiff (which is a fancy legal term for employee) wins he or she is often entitled to have the defendant (typically the employer) pay his or her attorneys’ fees. There a.jpg)
re lots of cases out there that discuss formulas for such fees .
But the basic assumption that some