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$984,970 verdict for National Guard member
June 20, 2007 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
A federal jury in Portland, Oregon awarded almost a million dollars to a National Guard member who lost his job at Target Corp. [Portland Oregonian report.]
James Patton came back from two weeks of active military duty in June 2003. He had been demoted. He told co-workers and also sought help from the National Guard. On July 14, Target fired Patton, telling him that he sent an e-mail to co-workers that was unprofessional and disruptive.
Patton sued claiming a violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and wrongful discharge under state law.
The newspaper says: "Jurors agreed with Target officials who said the demotion of Patton had nothing to do with his military service. But they decided that company officials retaliated against him for asking the National Guard to intervene."
The jury awarded $84,970 in back pay plus $900,000 in punitive damages. Under Oregon law 60 percent of the punitive damages goes into a state fund for crime victim assistance, so Patton's share is $360,000.
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