KUSI News responds to the verdict in the Sandra Maas case

SAN DIEGO (CUCY) – The Sandra Maas v. CUCI case ended Thursday night after weeks of testifying about her salary and that of her male colleague, Allen Denton.

Maas was paid less than Denton, which she claimed was due to gender and age discrimination.

She also claimed that she was not offered a new contract due to retribution for her whistleblower statement about pay inequality.

Kusi attorney Ken Fitzgerald appeared on Good Evening San Diego shortly after the verdict to respond.

Fitzgerald explained that Maas wanted “$7.9 million in damages.” The verdict awarded Maas “$1.495 million, so that’s just a tiny fraction of what she needed.”

Fitzgerald then spoke about the damages: “She received compensation for damages under the Equal Pay Act totaling $200,000. She received $80,000 in non-pecuniary damages. She sought millions of dollars for emotional distress and received a $1.495 million verdict for lost past and future wages in a whistleblower lawsuit. She claimed that she was a whistleblower and she warned the company about a violation of the Equal Pay Act, we disagreed with that. However, the jury found that she was entitled to $1.495 million in economic damages.”

Importantly, Fitzgerald continued, “The jury found no malice, fraud, or harassment on the part of the company. Her attorney, in closing arguments, said that the case “needed to recover punitive damages,” but the jury disagreed and concluded that punitive damages were not justified.”

Citing irregularities in the trial, Fitzgerald confirmed that KUSI would appeal the verdict.