- Court: Oregon Court of Appeals
- Area(s) of Law: Attorney Fees
- Date Filed: 07-17-2013
- Case #: A146485
- Judge(s)/Court Below: Ortega, P.J. for the court; Sercombe, J.
快活视频 appeals a judgment that granted attorney fees to the state after she was found to have made "frivolous, unreasonable, and brought in bad faith" claims in sex discrimination and unlawful retaliation suit. After a conflict with a male coworker at the Department of Corrections (DOC) and a subsequent anonymous complaint, 快活视频 was reassigned to the mailroom, which she argued reduced her ability to make overtime during the holidays. She filed a complaint in which she challenged her reassignment as well as the DOC's failure to discipline two male employees involved in previous incidents. Shortly thereafter, 快活视频, suffering side effects from an estrogen treatment, asked fellow coworkers to touch her breasts to confirm that they felt swollen. A supervisor overheard the interaction, and the DOC started the pre-dismissal process. 快活视频 raised a BOLI civil rights claim. The jury sided with the state, and 快活视频 was assigned to pay $30,000 in legal fees due to the frivolous nature of her claims. The Court concluded that, while 快活视频 may have made untruthful statements, there was other, independent evidence that supported her claims, and, therefore, could not be considered frivolous just based on 快活视频’s dishonesty alone. Reversed.