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The jury answered the first seven questions in the
affirmative and awarded petitioner $400,000 in damages without
specifying the special and/or general damage(s) to which they
related. The jury thus found as facts that Whittier was aware of
petitioner’s ulcer condition, knew that she was physically
disabled by this condition, and nonetheless removed her
reasonable accommodation when it reinstated her 5-day workweek in
March 1995. The jury answered the ninth question in the
negative. Upon motion by petitioner’s attorney, the court
awarded him $184,350.76 in attorney’s fees and costs pursuant to
Cal. Govt. Code sec. 12965(b). Petitioner’s total recovery,
inclusive of attorney’s fees and costs, was $584,350.76.
Both parties to the lawsuit ascribed error to the judgment
and appealed. The case was settled in or around December 1997,
while the appeal was pending, for a lump sum of $510,000.
Pursuant to this settlement agreement, petitioner received
$30,000 in 1997 for back wages and fringe benefits, $30,000 in
1998 for back wages and fringe benefits, $12,000 in 1997 for
attorney’s fees, $198,000 in 1998 for attorney’s fees, and
$240,000 in 1998 for “personal injuries and emotional distress”
arising from the ulcer. Petitioner reported the $30,000 she
received in 1998 on her income tax return and paid the taxes
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