Claus v. Intrigue Hotels, LLC

328 S.W.3d 777, 2010 Mo. App. LEXIS 1777, 111 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 199, 2010 WL 5285358
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 28, 2010
DocketWD 71927
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 328 S.W.3d 777 (Claus v. Intrigue Hotels, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Claus v. Intrigue Hotels, LLC, 328 S.W.3d 777, 2010 Mo. App. LEXIS 1777, 111 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 199, 2010 WL 5285358 (Mo. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

JOSEPH M. ELLIS, Judge.

Intrigue Hotels, L.L.C. appeals from a judgment entered in the Circuit Court of Jackson County in favor of Glenda Claus in her action for age discrimination, awarding her $50,000.00 in actual damages and $150,000.00 in punitive damages. For the following reasons, the judgment is affirmed.

Claus started working at the Park Place Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1984 as a room attendant. Intrigue Hotels acquired the Park Place Hotel in 2004. Frank Copidas, Jr. was the majority owner of Intrigue Hotels. In 2006, the head of housekeeping, Mark Ihde, promoted Claus to the position of housekeeping supervisor. After Ihde resigned on September 29, 2007, Dalinda Galaviz replaced him as head of housekeeping on October 15, 2007. On December 7, 2007, Galaviz fired Claus, who was 63-years-old at the time.

Claus filed a timely Charge of Discrimination against Intrigue Hotels and Copidas with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (“the MCHR”) and, subsequently, received a Notice of Right to sue from the MCHR. On September 30, 2008, Claus filed a petition in the Circuit Court of Jackson County claiming that Intrigue Hotels and Copidas had discriminated against her based upon her age and seeking actual and punitive damages under the Missouri Human Rights Act.

A bifurcated jury trial was conducted starting on August 18, 2009. The jury eventually returned a verdict of $50,000.00 in favor of Claus against Intrigue Hotels and a finding that punitive damages were warranted. The jury found in favor of Copidas on her claims against him. The issue of punitive damages was then tried and submitted to the jury, which eventually awarded $150,000.00 in punitive damages. The trial court entered judgment in accordance with the jury’s verdict. Intrigue Hotels brings eight points on appeal from that judgment.

We first address Appellant’s claim that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s award of actual damages to Claus. Appellant contends that the trial court erred in denying its motions for directed verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict because insufficient evidence was presented to support a finding that age was a contributing factor in the termination of Claus’s employment.

Section 213.055 of the MHRA “prohibits employers from engaging in discriminatory employment practices, including wrongful termination.” Daugherty v. City of Maryland Heights, 231 S.W.3d 814, 819 (Mo. banc 2007). “The MHRA defines ‘discrimination’ to include any unfair treatment based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age 1 as it relates to employment, disability, or familial status *782 as it relates to housing.” Id. (internal quotation omitted).- “Nothing in this statutory language of the MHRA requires a plaintiff to prove that discrimination was a substantial or determining factor in an employment decision; if consideration of age, disability, or other protected characteristics contributed to the unfair treatment, that is sufficient.” Id.

“MAI 31.24 sets out the elements necessary for a submissible case of age discrimination.” Stanley v. JerDen Foods, Inc., 263 S.W.3d 800, 803 (Mo.App. W.D.2008). Consistent with MAI 31.24, the jury was instructed to return a verdict in favor of Claus if it found (1) Appellant had discharged Claus, (2) that age was a contributing factor to such discharge, and (3) that Claus sustained damages as a result of such conduct. Appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to establish that age was a contributing factor in Claus’s discharge.

Claus was 63-years-old when she was fired by Appellant and replaced by a 31-year-old employee, shortly after Galaviz had inquired about Claus’s age. Galaviz testified that Claus was “completely blindsided” with the news of her termination and that she had never been warned that her performance was deficient in any way. Galaviz told Claus she was being fired because she did not “fit in.” The Personnel Action Form provided to Claus stated that she was being let go as a part of a “reduction in staff.” While Appellant initially claimed that Claus was fired as part of a staff reduction, Claus was the only employee that was fired at that time.

After Claus filed her claim of age discrimination, Appellant began claiming that Claus had been terminated for performance reasons as well as a reduction in force. By trial, in its motions for directed verdict, for JNOV, and for new trial, and in its submitted defense instruction, Appellant merely asserted that Claus was terminated for poor job performance.

The jury could more than reasonably have rejected Appellant’s later claims that Claus was feed for performance deficiencies in light of (1) Appellant’s failure to mention that rationale until after Claus filed her discrimination claim months later, (2) Claus’s record of positive job performance evaluations and lack of “write-ups,” 2 and (3) Galaviz’s failure to admonish or warn Claus regarding deficiencies in her job performance despite regularly “writing-up” other employees. In fact, the retained housekeeping supervisor, who was in her thirties, had been written up multiple times for excessive absences. Moreover, Ihde, Claus’s supervisor up until September 29, 2007, testified Claus had always performed all of her duties well the entire time he was at the hotel.

Galaviz testified that she wanted to have employees who would be at the hotel for the “long haul.” Galaviz also told Copidas and Starlette McCale, the hotel’s general manager, that Claus was “resistant to change,” a phrase Galaviz acknowledged is frequently used as code by human resources people when discharging an employee for being too old. The jury could reasonably have taken these statements to mean that Galaviz did not want older employees and that Claus’s age was a factor in her firing. The evidence supports the jury’s finding of age discrimination. Point denied.

We next examine Appellant’s claim that the evidence was insufficient to support an award of punitive damages. *783 “Section 213.111.2 permits recovery of punitive damages in claims brought under the Missouri Human Rights Act.” Gilliland v. Missouri Athletic Club, 273 S.W.3d 516, 520 (Mo. banc 2009). “Under Missouri law, a plaintiff is entitled to punitive damages if the plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant’s conduct was outrageous because of the defendant’s evil motive or reckless indifference to the rights of others.” Id. “Whether there is sufficient evidence to support an award of punitive damages is a question of law, and this Court’s review is de novo.” Id. In making that determination, however, “we view the evidence and all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to submissibility and we disregard all evidence and inferences which are adverse thereto.” Alhalabai v. Missouri Dep’t of Natural Res.,

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328 S.W.3d 777, 2010 Mo. App. LEXIS 1777, 111 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 199, 2010 WL 5285358, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/claus-v-intrigue-hotels-llc-moctapp-2010.