Corley v. San Bernardino County Fire Protection Dist.

Corley v. San Bernardino County Fire Protection Dist. (CA4/1 3/15/18 D072852) Age Discrimination/Jury

Instruction Firefighters' Procedural Bill of Rights

George Corley filed this action against his former employer, the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District (the District).[1]  The trial court held a jury trial on a single cause of action for age discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (Gov. Code, § 12900 et seq.).  The jury rendered a special verdict in which it found that Corley's age was a substantial motivating reason for the District's termination of his employment and awarded damages for lost earnings.  The trial court subsequently entered a judgment in favor of Corley against the District awarding Corley $597,629 in damages, $853,443 in attorney fees, and $40,733 in costs.

On appeal, the District contends that the trial court erred in denying its request to instruct the jury pursuant to a provision in the Firefighters' Procedural Bill of Rights (§ 3254, subd. (c)).  The District also claims that the trial court erred in instructing the jury that "the use of salary as the basis for differentiating between employees when terminating employment may be a factor used to constitute age discrimination" if the employer's termination policy adversely affects older workers.  The District further maintains that there is insufficient evidence to support the jury's award of damages based on its implicit finding that Corley would have been promoted but for the District's discrimination.  Finally, the District claims that the trial court abused its discretion in applying a multiplier in awarding Corley statutory attorney fees.  In the published portion of the discussion, we interpret section 3254, subdivision (c) and conclude that the trial court did not err in refusing to instruct the jury pursuant to this provision.  In unpublished portions of the discussion, we conclude that the District fails to establish any reversible error with respect to its remaining claims.  Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.

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