Damages

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Noemi Valdivia v. Township High School District 214

Case No.: 19-1410

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and BAUER and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Damages

Noemi Valdivia worked successfully as an administrative assistant for Township High School District 214, which is headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois, until she began experiencing severe psychological problems that ultimately led to the end of her employment there. She sued the District under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601−2654, claiming that it interfered with her rights under the Act by failing to provide her with notice or information about her right to take job‐protected leave. After a trial over which a magistrate judge presided by consent, see 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), a jury returned a verdict in Valdivia’s favor and awarded her $12,000 in damages. The District then moved for judgment as a matter of law under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b). The district court denied that motion, and the District has now appealed. It takes a lot to set aside a jury verdict, and we conclude that the District has not met that high bar. We thus affirm the judgment.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.