A former top broker with CRC Insurance Services will not have to pay her former employer more than $3 million awarded to the company by a lower court, according to the California Court of Appeal.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge in 2008 dismissed a $50 million complaint filed by former CRC employee Constance Callan, who alleged she was suspended from CRC in retaliation for making sexual harassment complaints against coworkers.
CRC has claimed Ms. Callan fabricated sales to win top broker honors at the company, according to court documents.
The judge said Ms. Callan failed to comply with numerous requests for discovery, did not show up for depositions, and filed frivolous court motions. Judge Soussan Bruguera awarded CRC millions of dollars to cover compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorneys' fees.
However, the Court of Appeal has now ruled that Ms. Callan "did not fail to comply with an order compelling her attendance and testimony at a deposition" based on certain statutes, which forbids the appellate court from affirming the lower court's dismissal of the case.
Court records show CRC was also to blame for "asserting unreasonable positions with respect to discovery" and the "failure to cooperate in good faith in discovery was mutual," the Court of Appeal said.
The case goes back to the trial court, where a schedule is to be made for all remaining depositions and exchanges of pretrial evidence.
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