A tip of the hat to my colleague and friend
Chris Thorman and
his firm for the fine work they did for their client Tommy Morgan. Last week a federal jury returned a $16 million verdict against
New York Life Insurance Company for age discrimination. The "Company You Keep" decided to part company with Mr. Morgan, then 52, and replace him with a younger manager.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that Mr. Morgan was a managing partner at New York Life Insurance Co.'s Northern Ohio.
Morgan was a 20-year employee of New York Life, Thorman said. His career there included a promotion, high marks for job performance and a good reputation among colleagues. One witness described Morgan as the best managing partner he had seen in 40 years, Thorman said.
In September of 2005 New York Life announced a "new generation of managers." Three weeks later New York Life fired Mr. Morgan. Bad timing. The jury returned the largest age discrimination verdict in Ohio history.
So why did the jury award such a large verdict? Federal courts in Northern Ohio are notoriously conservative, so a runaway jury is not the reason. The answer is that Mr. Morgan earned about $500,000 a year when New York Life fired him. He will therefore lose about $5.5 million over the rest of his career, which is what the jury awarded. The jury added another $500,000 for emotional pain and suffering, plus $10 million in punitive damages.
While the jury's verdict undoubtably made Mr. Morgan feel better, he should not plan on spending the money anytime soon. New York Life intends to appeal. An appeal to the Sixth Circuit takes 18 months to 2 years and the Court could reduce or overturn the verdict. If I had to bet, however, I would bet that Mr. Morgan and his legal team will protect this verdict on appeal.
My take: corporate America should stop discriminating. It's bad for business.
