EL PASO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, LTD. v. Carmona

160 S.W.3d 267, 2005 WL 623423
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 13, 2005
Docket08-03-00129-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 160 S.W.3d 267 (EL PASO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, LTD. v. Carmona) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
EL PASO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, LTD. v. Carmona, 160 S.W.3d 267, 2005 WL 623423 (Tex. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION

RICHARD BARAJAS, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal from a jury verdict in a case arising under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (“TCHRA”) claiming damages based upon allegations of age discrimination. The jury awarded $85,952 in back pay, $21,536 for loss of past employment benefits, $75,000 in compensatory damages, prejudgment interest on the actual damages, $1.3 million in exemplary damages, attorneys fees of $54,425, conditional awards of appellate attorneys fees, and post-judgment interest on all the amounts awarded. The Appellant raises ten issues on appeal. Issues One through Five challenge the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s answers to the questions submitted. The remaining issues challenge the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s finding that Appellant acted with malice or reckless indifference, the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s finding regarding lost employment benefits, the trial court’s submission of a circumstantial evidence instruction, whether the cap on damages under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act applies, and whether, if the cap applies, it also limits the award of front pay found by the jury. For the reasons stated, we reverse and remand.

*272 I. ISSUES SUBMITTED ON APPEAL

Appellant has submitted ten issues on appeal. Issues One through Five complain that the evidence supporting the jury’s answers regarding a finding of age discrimination under the TCHRA, is legally and factually insufficient to support the findings. Because our ruling on Issues One through Five is dispositive of this appeal, we do not reach the remaining issues.

II. SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE

Appellee, Vincenza Carmona had been employed as a nurse in El Paso since 1979 and employed by Appellant since 1988. Appellee originally was employed as an oncology nurse by Appellant, but in 1992, became a Case Manager which involved, among other responsibilities, overseeing the placement of patients within the hospital. In May of 1997, Appellee applied for a new position that had recently been created in the Admitting Department, Admitting Nurse. The same position had been eliminated approximately two years earlier during a previous reduction in force but was recreated in 1997. At that time, Juan Murillo, the Assistant Director over the Admitting Department, interviewed Appel-lee for the position and recommended that she be allowed to transfer into the new position. Appellee was 60 years old at- the time of the transfer to the Admitting Department. Appellee acknowledged having a good working relationship with Murillo while she was employed as the Admitting Nurse. She did not have any complaints about unfair treatment on the part of Murillo or Vicky Moreno, her immediate supervisor.

Because of cyclical patient census counts which impact the patient population in the hospital, the hospital occasionally implements steps to control expenses during periods of declining populations. Because hospitals have high fixed costs, wages and salaries are the largest controllable expense. Consequently, the hospital may initiate a reduction in force or RIF, as a cost-cutting measure and has done so in the past.

Appellant’s corporate parent compiles and disseminates statistical data that enables the hospital to compare its staffing levels with those of other hospitals. When considering the implementation of a RIF as a cost-saving measure, upper management, in this case, Terry Smith, the Chief Financial Officer, instructed directors such as Murillo to reduce the number of full-time employees within their respective department. The directors were allowed to review the staffing needs of the various departments and then made a recommendation about which position should be considered for elimination.

While evaluating the Admitting Department, Murillo was provided with a list of employees from the Human Resources Department. The list identified the employees within the department by name, job title, and hire date. The information did not contain any information reflecting the employee’s date of birth or age.

Smith had informed Murillo one to two weeks before the elimination of Appellee’s position that Murillo should reduce the number of employees in the Admitting Department by one employee. Murillo was tasked with reviewing the functions of the department and determining which position was the least essential.

Murillo believed that Appellee’s position was beneficial but felt that most of Appel-lee’s job responsibilities had been handled by other employees regularly in the past, and could, therefore, be absorbed by other employees in the future. Appellee worked a regular schedule of Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., though the Admitting Department was open 365 days *273 per year. When Appellee was not on duty, other employees assisted admissions with questions related to the admission of patients. Murillo provided testimony explaining why he felt that other positions within the Admitting Department were more critical and not appropriate for elimination.

Murillo presented his recommendation to his supervisor, Waddell and then to Terry Smith. Smith then decided to eliminate Appellee’s position. Smith did not know Appellee’s age.

On March 9, 2000, Appellee was notified that her position was being eliminated as part of a reduction in force. Appellee was 68 years of age and had been employed by the hospital since 1988. She was both the oldest and highest paid employee in the department. Upon being terminated, Ap-pellee was provided with two weeks pay in lieu of notice, payment of her accumulated “paid time off,” and $6,800 in severance pay.

During November and December of 1999, Appellant created another position in a different department known as Resource Management Specialist in the Case Management Department. Appellee contends that the creation of this position was a pretext for the elimination of her position and her replacement by a younger employee. At the time the position was filled and before the loss of her position, Appellee made some inquires about the scope of the position but did not receive a satisfactory response from her supervisors other than an explanation that the new position was not a replacement for hers. The evidence presented established that Appellant did not formally adhere to its internal reduction in force policies when implementing the RIF. Also presented by Appellee was some statistical evidence describing demographic information about the employees who were affected by the RIF during the time period of May 1999 to May 2001.

Appellee sued, contending that her age was a motivating factor and consideration in the elimination of her position in violation of the TCHRA.

The jury agreed and the trial court entered a judgment in favor of Appellee from which Appellant appeals.

III. DISCUSSION

Appellant’s first five issues attack the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence of various aspects of the jury’s verdict.

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Bluebook (online)
160 S.W.3d 267, 2005 WL 623423, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/el-paso-healthcare-system-ltd-v-carmona-texapp-2005.