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Gonzales v. New Mexico Department Of Health9/27/2000
After a four-day trial, a jury found that Defendant Las Vegas Medical Center (LVMC) had retaliated against Plaintiff Ana Gonzales (Gonzales) after she pursued a discrimination claim under the New Mexico Human Rights Act, NMSA 1978, §§ 28-1-1 to -15 (1969, as amended through 1987, prior to 1991, 1993, 1995, and 2000 amendments). In 1990, Ana Gonzales brought a claim alleging that LVMC had discriminated against her because of her Hispanic national origin. See NMSA 1978, § 28-1-7(A) (1987, prior to 1995 amendment). In 1994, the New Mexico Human Rights Commission (HRC) concluded that Gonzales had failed to make a prima facie case of discrimination. Gonzales then appealed to the district court for a trial de novo under NMSA 1978, § 28-1-13(A) (1987). The jury determined that she had not been discriminated against but that she had suffered retaliation at the hands of LVMC. She was awarded damages and attorney's fees. LVMC filed an appeal directly to this Court under Section 28-1-13(C) of the Human Rights Act, and Gonzales filed a cross- appeal. We affirm the determinations of the trial court.
On appeal, LVMC presents the following challenges to the proceedings below: (1) whether the trial court erred in refusing to dismiss Gonzales's retaliation claim; (2) whether the trial court erred in refusing to admit evidence about the changed structure of the crisis hotline in November 1995 and Gonzales's involvement with it; (3) whether the trial court erred in refusing to admit evidence of the HRC decision and order; (4) whether the trial court erred in refusing to admit evidence that Gonzales could have mitigated her damages by working on a different hotline; and (5) whether the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on Gonzales's duty to mitigate damages.
In the cross-appeal, Gonzales asks the Court to address the following issues: (1) whether the district court erred by failing to award stronger sanctions against LVMC for alleged abuses of discovery and destruction of evidence; (2) whether the trial court erred with respect to her discrimination claim by (a) by refusing to instruct the jury on disparate impact, (b) declining to give an instruction based on a federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulation relating to disparate impact, and (c) refusing to instruct the jury that a minority may discriminate against a person of the same ethnic background; and (3) whether the district court erred regarding attorney's fees in (a) reducing attorney's fees because Gonzales was only partially successful at trial, (b) failing to award attorney's fees for legal work done before the HRC, and (c) failing to award interest on the judgment and attorney's fees.
Regarding LVMC's claims, we hold that the jury was reasonable in concluding that Gonzales was a victim of retaliation and affirm the trial court on this issue. We also affirm the trial court's ruling not to admit the evidence that LVMC claims should have been introduced to rebut Gonzales's claim of retaliation, as well as the court's decision to exclude evidence and jury instructions regarding the question of mitigation. As for the claims of Gonzales, we affirm the trial court's refusal to instruct the jury concerning disparate impact, discrimination against a minority by a minority, and the EEOC regulation relating to disparate impact. We affirm the trial court's determination that attorney's fees should not be awarded for those areas in which Gonzales did not prevail at trial or in the discrimination claim before the HRC. We also affirm the court's determinations not to assess interest on attorney's fees or the judgment and not to impose greater discovery sanctions against LVMC.
I. FACTUAL
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