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After a seven-week jury trial, a $20,000,000 verdict was entered in favor of our client, Stanford Health Care patient testing technician Qiqiuia Young. The jury found that Ms. Young was subjected to racial harassment, discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, and defamation. The jury awarded Ms. Young $6 million against Stanford Health Care for her emotional distress from the alleged racial harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, and for the harm to Ms. Young from Stanford Health Care's failure to prevent those alleged unlawful acts. The jury awarded Ms. Young an additional $5.4 million against Stanford Health Care for defamation, and found that Stanford Health Care acted with malice, oppression, or fraud against Ms. Young. As a result, the jury awarded an additional $3 million in punitive damages to punish Stanford Health Care and deter further such alleged conduct. The jury found that Stanford University was not Ms. Young's joint employer and awarded Ms. Young $5.6 million against Stanford University for defamation. This amount includes $2 million in punitive damages to punish Stanford University after the jury found that in publishing the alleged defamatory statement, Stanford University, too, acted with malice, oppression, or fraud against Ms. Young.
Stanford University and Stanford Health Care petitioned the trial court for a new trial and to set aside the jury's verdicts. On June 13, 2024, the trial court conditionally reduced the jury's verdict to $10 million while upholding the jury's decision to award $2 million in punitive damages to punish Stanford University and $3 million in punitive damages to punish Stanford Health Care.
Ms. Young's trial team includes Lara Villarreal Hutner, Rachel M. Pusey, and Brian C. Coolidge, and Elizabeth "Lisa" M. Peck, Mythily Sivarajah, and Kevin Schwin of Peck-Law, Employment & Civil Rights.
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