Punitive Damages

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Detlef Sommerfield v. Lawrence Knasiak

Case No.: 18-2045

Officials: FLAUM, RIPPLE, and WOOD, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Punitive Damages

After experiencing virulent anti-Semitic abuse at the hands of Sergeant Lawrence Knasiak, Officer Detlef Sommerfield of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) filed a lawsuit against Knasiak and the City of Chicago in which he alleged discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on his German national origin and his Jewish ethnicity. After the City was dismissed from the case, a jury returned a verdict for Sommerfield and awarded him $540,000 in punitive damages; he also received a modest award representing pre-judgment interest for backpay and pension benefits he already had received. Knasiak has appealed, contending that he was entitled to judgment as a matter of law, or at least a new trial, and that the court should have reduced the punitive-damage award. We recognize that this was a closely contested case, but in the end we find no error in the district court’s decisions, and so we affirm.

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.