Case Is Must Reading On Reasonable Accommodation/Interactive Process FEHA Claims.
FEHA plaintiff in Shirvanyan v. L.A. Community College Dist., Case Nos. B296593/B297419 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Nov. 30, 2020 unpublished; Dec. 29, 2020 published) won a $2,899,670 economic/emotional distress damages award based on claims that District failed to make reasonable accommodations and engage in an interactive process relating to her wrist and shoulder injuries. The trial judge then awarded plaintiff $503,273.50 in fees under the FEA attorney’s fee shifting provision—which highlights how large fee awards can be in this substantive area.
District’s appeal resulted in a reversal and remand of both the jury verdict and fees award. The verdict was reversed and remanded for a new trial because there was insufficient evidence on the shoulder injury component of the case, such that both liability and damages needed to be retried to see what occurred when the matter was limited to the wrist injury. When the underlying judgment fell, the fees award fell also—with the appellate court reminding the trial judge to adjudge any future fee proceeding based on plaintiff obtaining limited success based on the outcome of this very appeal.