Williams v. Crown Liquors of Broward, Inc.

880 F. Supp. 2d 1286, 2012 WL 3016962, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108440
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Williams v. Crown Liquors of Broward, Inc.. Read the opinion of the Court — 851 F. Supp. 2d 1332
District Court, S.D. Florida·Decided July 23, 2012·No. Case No. 11-CIV-61341·Published

Opinion

ORDER

CECILIA M. ALTONAGA, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE came before the Court on Plaintiff, M. Angella Williams’s (“Williams[’s]”) Request for Liquidated Damages and Front Pay Under the FMLA (“Damages Request”) [ECF No. 79], filed July 13, 2012. Following a four-day jury trial, Williams prevailed on a count of retaliation against Defendant, Crown Liquors of Broward, Inc. (“Crown”), in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. § 2601, et seq. (“FMLA”). (See Verdict [ECF No. 75]). Williams now seeks liquidated damages and front pay. Crown filed a Memorandum of Law in Opposition ... (“Response”) [ECF No. 82] on July 17, 2012. The Court has carefully reviewed the parties’ submissions, the record, and applicable law.

I. ANALYSIS

A. Liquidated Damages

Under the FMLA, an employer found to be in violation is liable to the employee for damages equal to “any wages, salary, employment benefits, or other compensation denied or lost to such employee by reason of the violation.” 29 U.S.C. § 2617(a)(l)(A)(i)(I). These are referred to as compensatory damages. The employer is further liable for additional “liquidated damages equal to the sum of’ the compensatory damages plus interest. Id. § 2617(a)(l)(A)(iii). However, the FMLA further provides:

[I]f an employer who has violated section 2615 of this title proves to the satisfaction of the court that the act or omission which violated section 2615 of this title was in good faith and that the em[1288]*1288ployer had reasonable grounds for believe that the act or omission was not a violation of section 2615 of this title, such court may, in the discretion of the court, reduce the amount of the liability to the amount and interest....

Id. Retaliation under the FMLA constitutes a violation of section 2615. See Martin v. Brevard Cnty. Pub. Schs., 543 F.3d 1261, 1267 (11th Cir.2008).

“Liquidated damages are awarded presumptively to an employee when an employer violates the FMLA, unless the employer demonstrates that its violation was in good faith and that it had a reasonable basis for believing that its conduct was not in violation of the FMLA.” Cooper v. Fulton Cnty., Ga., 458 F.3d 1282, 1287 (11th Cir.2006). The subjective and objective elements of this test are distinct, and the employer must demonstrate both. See id. at 1288 (holding that where “employer subjectively acted in good faith but its conduct was objectively unreasonable, then it is not an abuse of discretion to award liquidated damages”). “To avoid a liquidated damages award, the defendant bears the burden of establishing that it acted with subjective good faith and that it had an objectively reasonable belief that its conduct did not violate the law.” Hite v. Vermeer Mfg. Co., 446 F.3d 858, 868 (8th Cir.2006) (citation omitted); 29 U.S.C. § 2617(a)(l)(A)(iii) (stating employer must prove good faith and reasonableness “to the satisfaction of the court”). There is a “strong presumption under the statute in favor of doubling” damages by awarding liquidated damages. Hite, 446 F.3d at 869 (quoting Shea v. Galaxie Lumber & Constr. Co., Ltd., 152 F.3d 729, 733 (7th Cir.1998)).

With respect to the retaliation claim, the jury awarded Williams “damages to compensate for loss of wages and benefits shown to have been lost to the date of trial” in the amount of $40,000. (Verdict 4). Thus, the amount of compensatory damages to the date of trial is not in dispute. The only issue is whether Crown may avoid the presumption in favor of the liquidated damages award by demonstrating good faith and reasonableness in its conduct.

“Showing good faith when a jury has determined intentional retaliation is a very high bar to clear, if indeed it can be.” Hite, 446 F.3d at 869. This is so because the intentional nature of the discrimination is the crux of a retaliation claim. See Martin, 543 F.3d at 1267. Crown, nevertheless, contends that it acted in good faith and sets forth an account of the testimony elicited at trial to demonstrate its good faith and reasonableness. This presentation of evidence, however, hardly helps Crown’s case.

Crown describes the August 14, 2008 letter (“August 14 Letter”) in which Amy Galloway (“Galloway”), Crown’s outside counsel, advises Williams that her FMLA request has been processed, and advises of the FMLA start and end dates. (See Resp. 7). As Crown itself notes, the letter from Galloway to Williams states, “I would like clarification as to your expectation as to the FMLA request once the FMLA leave package expires.” (Id. 7-8). Thus, Crown acknowledges that the August 14 Letter addresses the fact that there was an open issue as to extended leave beyond the mandated 12 weeks. Crown also contends that at some point after the August 14 Letter was sent, “Amy Galloway, again tried to reach out to [Williams] to discuss her expectations as to the FMLA request once the 12 week leave period and benefits expireD [sic] and Ms. Galloway’s request [1289]*1289for WILLIAMS to tell CROWN if she believed she was entitled to any other benefits not addressed in the August 14 letter regarding WILLIAMS [sic] employment status.” {Id. 7).

In the same breath, Crown states that the August 14 Letter “offered WILLIAMS a severance package that was consistent with what WILLIAMS had agreed to back when she first advised CROWN that she was pregnant and did not anticipate or plan to continue to perform her human resources duties.” {Id. 8) (emphasis added). Thus, difficult as it is to believe, at the same time Crown argues that Williams made a request for extended FMLA leave on which she neglected to follow up, Crown contends that Williams agreed as soon as she notified Crown of her pregnancy to a severance package, which was contained in the same letter first advising her the FMLA request was processed, implying Williams never made a request for extended leave or sought to keep her position.

That Williams made a request for extended leave is hardly in dispute. Four days before filing its Response to the present Motion, Crown filed a Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law [ECF No. 77] on Crown’s retaliation claim. In that motion, Crown made a point of arguing that it was entirely beyond dispute that Crown denied Williams’s request for extended leave. But it argued that Williams was not entitled to the leave she did request. “Indeed, the entire FMLA case hinged on whether the Plaintiff could prove that she was entitled to the extended FMLA leave she requested .... ” (Mot. for Judgment as a Matter of Law 4).

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Williams v. Crown Liquors of Broward, Inc., 880 F. Supp. 2d 1286, 2012 WL 3016962, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108440 (S.D. Fla. 2012).

880 F. Supp. 2d 1286 (Williams v. Crown Liquors of Broward, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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