On November 14, 2006, the 6th Circuit issued an under the radar per curiam decision dismissing Vicky Crawford’s Title VII retaliation case against Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. See 211 Fed. Appx. 373 (6th Cir. 2006). That had to be an incredibly difficult day for Ms. Crawford.

Fortunately, Ms. Crawford’s petition for cert was accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court, which unanimously reversed the 6th Circuit’s decision on January 26, 2009. See Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, 129 S.Ct. 846 (2009). The case was remanded for a jury trial on Ms. Crawford’s retaliation claim.

And yesterday, after a week long trial in Nashville federal court, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Ms. Crawford on her retaliation claim. Ms. Crawford was awarded over 1.5M in damages (420k in compensatory damages; 408k back pay; and 727k front pay). Crawford Verdict Form

If punitive damages were permitted against governmental entities under Title VII, which they are not according to 42 U.S.C. 1981a(b)(1) (click here), I can only imagine that the verdict would have been even bigger.

Congrats to Ms. Crawford and her trial attorney, Ann Buntin Steiner of Nashville, as well as Professor Eric Schnapper of Seattle, who handled Ms. Crawford’s appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court.