Court of Appeal Affirms Jury Verdict on Tameny Claim for Employee Discharged for Wage Complaints

Thank you to Christopher Bello for pointing out this unpublished decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal.

Carol Belk (Belk) brought an action against her former employer, Electra Cruises, Inc. (Electra), for breach of contract and wrongful termination. The jury returned a verdict in her favor, awarding her $36,736 for breach of contract, $80,000 for wrongful termination, and $225,000 in punitive damages. The trial court granted Electra's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict on the breach of contract cause of action only. It also granted Electra's motion for new trial on the punitive damages, subject to Belk's acceptance of a reduced remittitur of $80,000. Belk accepted the reduced award.

Electra appeals, claiming the trial court erred in failing to grant its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict on the wrongful termination cause of action because Belk did not prove she was terminated in violation of a fundamental public policy. It also claims the trial court erred in failing to grant its motion for new trial on punitive damages because, even though reduced, the award is still excessive. Belk also appeals, claiming the original punitive damages award was not excessive and the reduction of the award was erroneous. We affirm.

Slip op. at 1. Although the opinion cannot be cited, it includes a good discussion of the cases on wrongful termination for wage complaints (Gould v. Maryland Sound and Phillips v. Gemini Moving), jury instructions, and punitive damages.