Free Uncategorized - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

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Quarles & Brady Streich Lang LLP
Firm State Bar No. 00443100 Renaissance One Two North Central Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85004-2391
TELEPHONE 602.229.5200

Lonnie J. Williams, Jr. (#005966) ([email protected]) Dawn C. Valdivia (#020715) ([email protected]) Luis F. Ramirez (#022653) ([email protected]) Attorneys for Plaintiff Marcela Johnson IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA Marcela Johnson, Plaintiff, v. Charles Schwab Corporation, Defendant. NO. CV 04-0790 PHX-JWS RESPONSE TO SCHWAB'S MOTION RE: PLAINTIFF'S AILMENTS FOLLOWING HER TERMINATION

Defendant Charles Schwab Corporation's ("Schwab") Motion in Limine to Preclude Ms. Johnson from Presenting Evidence Related to Alleged Ailments Following Termination is without merit. Schwab does not dispute that evidence of emotional

distress and physical ailments related to the termination of Ms. Johnson's employment is inadmissible. Rather, Schwab argues that evidence of the emotional and physical ailments is inadmissible because Ms. Johnson purportedly admitted that they were "caused by this litigation" and only surface when "there is activity in this lawsuit." Schwab's Motion is entirely based on this misrepresentation of Ms. Johnson's testimony. Ms. Johnson expressly and unequivocally stated in her deposition that she has been suffering from headaches, stomach pains, lack of sleep, acne, and stress since Schwab terminated her employment. [Deposition of Marcela Johnson, pp. 19-20, attached as Exhibit A]. In fact, Ms. Johnson informed Schwab that these health issues began to appear "the day [she] was fired" and are "completely" attributable due to stress from her termination. Id. at 20. Consequently, Ms. Johnson's physical and emotional damages

Case 2:04-cv-00790-EHC

Document 142

Filed 04/17/2006

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predate this litigation and are recoverable. The authority cited by Schwab confirms the admissibility of this evidence. See Knussman v. State of Maryland, 272 F.3d 625, 642 (4th Cir. 2001) (recognizing that plaintiff was entitled to recover for emotional distress caused by discrimination and ordering new trial to determine amount); Clark v. United States, 660 F.Supp 1164, 1200 (W.D. Wash. 1987) (awarding damages for emotional distress attributable to defendant's conduct); Blakely v. Continental Airlines, Inc., 992 F.Supp 731, 740-741 (D. N.J. 1998) (awarding $250,000 for stress related to defendant's work misconduct). Ms. Johnson's mental and physical ailments are clearly relevant to her claim for damages. To the extent that Schwab disputes Ms. Johnson's damages because it believes that some of her injuries are not directly attributable to Schwab's violations, it should present evidence in this respect and permit the jury to determine what portion is attributable to her unlawful termination and what portion, if any, is attributable to this litigation. Accordingly, Schwab's Motion in Limine should be denied. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 17th day of April, 2006. QUARLES & BRADY STREICH LANG LLP By s/Dawn C. Valdivia Lonnie J. Williams, Jr. Dawn C. Valdivia Luis F. Ramirez Attorneys for Plaintiff Marcela Johnson

I hereby certify that on April 17, 2006, I electronically transmitted the attached document to the Clerk's Office using the CM/ECF System for filing and transmittal of Notice of Electronic filing to the following CM/ECF registrants:

Joseph T. Clees
Karen Gillen Michelle Ganz Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. A copy of this document was provided to The Honorable John W. Sedwick s/Dawn C. Valdivia

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Document 142 -2- Filed 04/17/2006

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