Joyce Quinlan alleged that she had been the victim of gender discrimination and retaliation in violation of New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -42. After a prior trial ended in a mistrial, the case was tried again between Jan. 17 and Feb. 13. On Feb. 8, the jury found in Quinlan’s favor on her lost promotion and retaliation claims and returned a verdict of $4,565,479. On Feb. 13, the jury returned a punitive damages verdict in the identical amount.
In Quinlan v. Curtiss-Wright Corp., Docket No. L-8976-03 (Law Div. June 15, 2007), New Jersey’s Essex County Superior Court addressed several issues of interest to practitioners. First, it discussed what constituted “protected” activity that would support a retaliation claim. The court also addressed the criteria for awarding an enhancement to a lodestar fee and endorsed the awarding of additional compensation to offset an award’s negative tax consequences.
