Wald v. Benedictine Living Communities, Inc.

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Debra Wald appealed after the district court denied her motion for judgment as a matter of law or for a new trial on her claim that Benedictine Living Communities, Inc., doing business as St. Rose Care Center, terminated her employment in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In 2011, Wald sustained a work injury when she slipped and fell during the course of her employment as a cook and kitchen aid at St. Rose, a long-term care center in LaMoure, North Dakota. Workforce Safety & Insurance ultimately awarded her partial temporary disability benefits from 2011 to 2015. St. Rose notified Wald about her FMLA rights, and ten days later, St. Rose terminated her employment without providing her with an opportunity to effectuate those rights. Wald testified she would have been willing to go back to work with some accommodations to see what she could do. According to Wald, she attended some computer training courses through Workforce Safety & Insurance after her termination from St. Rose, but she stopped taking classes after she was denied further workers' compensation benefits. Wald testified she had not had a job after her employment was terminated by St. Rose because she decided to be a stay-at-home wife and mother. A jury returned a special verdict finding that Wald failed to prove St. Rose was liable for negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress, but that it terminated Wald in violation of the FMLA and that she would have earned $118,610.76 in wages, salary, employment benefits and other compensation from the date of her termination through the date of the verdict. The jury further found that Wald failed to mitigate her damages by not seeking out or taking advantage of employment opportunities reasonably available to her after her termination and that she would have earned $118,610.76 if she had sought out or taken advantage of reasonably available employment opportunities. The special verdict effectively awarded Wald no damages for her FMLA termination claim. The North Dakota Supreme Court determined the district court erred in its charge the jury, misapplying the law and allowing the jury's use of "common knowledge and experience" to conclude Wald could have mitigated her damages in the period at issue here. On these grounds, the Supreme Court reversed the district court's denial of Wald's motion for a new trial on damages. The Court affirmed in all other respects. View "Wald v. Benedictine Living Communities, Inc." on Justia Law