(Download) "Continental Coffee Products Co. V. Cazarez" by Supreme Court of Texas * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Continental Coffee Products Co. V. Cazarez
- Author : Supreme Court of Texas
- Release Date : January 13, 1996
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 74 KB
Description
The principal question for our decision is what evidence is required for a court to find malice in order to award punitive damages for a violation of a statute creating an intentional tort. Juanita Cazarez sued her employer, Continental Coffee Products Company, and its employment manager, Alan D. Duff, for allegedly discharging her in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim in violation of Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 8307c (repealed) (codified without substantive changes at Tex.Lab.Code § 451.001-.003). The trial court, after a bench trial, rendered judgment awarding Cazarez actual damages of $150,000 and punitive damages of $500,000. The court of appeals, with one justice dissenting, affirmed, holding that the trial court properly exercised jurisdiction and that factually and legally sufficient evidence supported the trial court's findings that Continental violated the statute intentionally and with malice. 903 S.W.2d 70. We agree with the court of appeals that the trial court had jurisdiction. We also agree that there is some evidence that Continental and Duff violated section 451.001 in terminating Cazarez's employment.*fn1 However, in deciding that the evidence was legally and factually sufficient, the court of appeals relied in part on evidence that we hold is not probative. Moreover, we hold that the evidence is not legally sufficient to support a finding of actual malice, which is required to assess punitive damages for a retaliatory discharge. We therefore affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the court of appeals and render judgment that Cazarez take nothing on her claim for punitive damages.