Summary
finding award of $200,000 for compensatory damages for mental anguish to be excessive and reducing the award to not exceed $5,000
Summary of this case from Delgado v. Cragganmore Associates Limited PartnershipOpinion
November 27, 1995
Adjudged that the petition is granted, on the law, without costs or disbursements, to the extent that the order dated April 28, 1994, as amended, is modified by (1) deleting the second sentence of the first subnumbered paragraph in the third decretal paragraph, and (2) deleting the second numbered subparagraph in the third decretal paragraph; the order dated April 28, 1994, is otherwise confirmed, and the matter is remitted to the Commissioner for the imposition of a new award of compensatory damages for mental anguish and humiliation which shall not exceed $5,000.
The determination that the petitioner Port Washington Police Department discriminated against the complainant on the basis of sex is supported by substantial evidence in the record (see, Executive Law § 298; Matter of State Div. of Human Rights v County of Onondaga Sheriff's Dept., 71 N.Y.2d 623, 631; Matter of State Div. of Human Rights, 70 N.Y.2d 100, 106; Matter of Brooklyn Hosp. Med. Ctr. v DeLeon, 208 A.D.2d 624, 625).
Nevertheless, the award of $200,000 for compensatory damages for mental anguish is not reasonably related to the petitioner's wrongdoing. While mental injury may be based solely on the complainant's testimony (see, Matter of Cosmos Forms v State Div. of Human Rights, 150 A.D.2d 442), where as here, the complainant's discussion of her mental anguish was brief and there was no evidence of the duration of her condition, its severity or consequences or evidence of treatment, an award not exceeding $5,000 is appropriate (see, Matter of New York State Dept. of Correctional Servs. v New York State Div. of Human Rights, 215 A.D.2d 908; Matter of Quality Care v Rosa, 194 A.D.2d 610; Matter of New York State Off. of Mental Retardation Dev. Disabilities v New York State Div. of Human Rights, 183 A.D.2d 943; Matter of Obstfeld v Brandon, 180 A.D.2d 638). Therefore, the matter is remitted to the Commissioner for the imposition of a new award of compensatory damages not to exceed $5,000.
Further, the Commissioner improperly directed that if appointed to the Port Washington Police Department, the "Complainant shall be entitled to the same terms, conditions and privileges of employment as the officers hired on June 23, 1989, including seniority status" (see, Matter of Andriola v Ortiz, 82 N.Y.2d 320, cert denied ___ US ___, 114 S Ct 1541). Thompson, J.P., Altman, Krausman and Goldstein, JJ., concur.