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Nicoloff v. Trader Joe's Co.10/12/2005
Defendant Trader Joe's Company, Inc. (Trader Joe's), appeals from an order for attorney fees and costs in favor of Plaintiff Imari Nicoloff (Nicoloff), asserting that she was not a prevailing party and therefore was not entitled to them. Alternatively, as a means to avoid paying fees and costs, Trader Joe's appeals from the judgment on the ground that there was no substantial evidence to support a finding of liability against it. We affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
Nicoloff began working for Trader Joe's as a part-time employee in January 2001. From the time that she began her employment she worked with another crew member, Douglas Pratt (Pratt), 75 percent of the time. From nearly the beginning of her employment and on a daily basis, Pratt would make kissing noises and gestures towards her, whistle at her, and ask "who loves you baby?" answering himself, "oh, I do," all while trying to ensure that she was making eye contact with him as he did so. Pratt once put a marker into her back pocket in a seductive manner as he was leaving the store, telling her he did not want to take it with him. He also put a price tag on her buttocks with a price gun that he was using while she was stocking shelves, and typically stood too close to her and moved after her if she pulled away. This frightened her to the point where she would no longer ask Pratt for price information. Pratt would try to caress or rub her shoulders, asked her out several times, asked her to ride his motorcycle with him and asked her to go with a group to a wine festival. He also told her that if she were 10 years older they could talk and asked if she had an older sister he could talk to. This made her feel uncomfortable and nervous. She did not feel safe and was sad, depressed, angry, and anxious. She later required psychological treatment. Finally, while she was stocking shelves, he came up behind her and touched her stomach as if to tickle her, again frightening her. At that point, on June 8, 2001, she reported his behavior to her supervisor, Brian Regan (Regan). The same day she was interviewed by Saul Austrian (Austrian), the assistant manager. Before she came back to work, the store manager, Tom Bieksha (Bieksha) called her to discuss her report against Pratt. At her request, her schedule was changed immediately so she no longer had to work with Pratt, who never harassed her again. She still requested and was granted a transfer to another Trader Joe's store in order to get away from Pratt and returned to the original store when he was no longer employed there. She stopped working at Trader Joe's in October 2001, when her psychologist put her on temporary total disability.
Nicoloff filed a complaint against Trader Joe's asserting causes of action for hostile work environment sexual harassment and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. She also filed a workers' compensation claim, which was settled for $20,000. Prior to trial in the superior court matter, the court granted summary adjudication in favor of Trader Joe's on the cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress. After a court trial, the case was taken under submission and the trial court issued a ruling that judgment would be for Nicoloff in the amount of $25,000, to be offset by the prior workers' compensation settlement. Trader Joe's then filed a request for a statement of decision and a motion for a new trial. The trial court ordered Nicoloff to prepare a proposed statement of decision and judgment. The motion for a new trial was denied; however, the proposed statement of decision was ordered modified.
Pursuant to the trial court's order, Nicoloff again submitted a proposed statement of decisi
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