Broyles v. Thurston County

• Decision Date: 12 November 2008
• Docket Number: No. 35950-2-II.,35950-2-II.
• Citation: 195 P.3d 985,147 Wn. App. 409
• Court: Washington Court of Appeals
• Parties: Audrey BROYLES; Vonda Sargent; and Susan Sackett-Danpullo, Respondents, v. THURSTON COUNTY, Appellant.

195 P.3d 985

147 Wn. App. 409

Audrey BROYLES; Vonda Sargent; and Susan Sackett-Danpullo, Respondents, v. THURSTON COUNTY, Appellant.

No. 35950-2-II.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2.

November 12, 2008.

Michael Alexander Patterson, Patricia Kay Buchanan, Karen Adell Kalzer, Patterson Buchanan Fobes Leitch & Kalzer, Seattle, WA, for Appellant.

Stephanie Bloomfield, James Walter Beck, Bryan Daniel Doran, Gordon, Thomas, Honeywell, Malanca, Pete, John Richard Creatura, Andrea H. Mcneely, Attorney at Law, Tacoma, WA, Daniel Troy Logan Fasy, Gordon, Thomas, Honeywell Seattle, WA, for Respondents.

PENOYAR, J.

¶ 1 Thurston County appeals from a jury verdict holding the County liable based on hostile work environment and retaliation claims. The County asserts that (1) it is not liable for the acts of the prosecuting attorney, Edward Holm; (2) the trial court erred in allowing evidence outside the statute of limitations, in not applying collateral estoppel, and in allowing marital discrimination evidence; (3) the trial court erred in not allowing evidence detailing a meeting in which the plaintiffs and another deputy prosecutor consulted an attorney; (4) the jury's verdict was excessive; and (5) the trial court abused its discretion in setting the plaintiffs' attorney fee award. We affirm.

FACTS

I. Plaintiffs' Testimony

A. Broyles

¶ 2 Audrey Broyles began work as a deputy prosecuting attorney (DPA) for the Thurston County Prosecutor in 1993. She served as a misdemeanor prosecutor, as the juvenile division supervisor, and, at the time Holm took office in January 1999, as the felony prosecutor in charge of domestic violence cases. Holm kept her in this felony prosecution role but also made her the juvenile division supervisor. Later that same year, Holm assigned her the additional responsibility of screening all the misdemeanor domestic violence cases. In January 2000, Holm promoted her from a DPA III to a Senior Deputy, though she was placed in a lower pay scale range than other Senior DPAs.

¶ 3 In November 2000, Broyles, Vonda Sargent, Susan Sackett-DanPullo, and Christy Peters met with Holm to voice their concerns about Phil Harju, their supervisor, and Jack Jones, a felony DPA. They asked Holm to remedy an "intolerable" situation that included Jack Jones's "demeaning and volatile behavior" and concerns for their safety. Report of Proceedings (RP) at 99-100. They described Phil Harju's unwillingness to control Jones, his "disparate treatment of the women," and his repeated references to others about Broyles having a "special relationship" with Holm. RP at 100. Broyles explained that Holm expressed concern, that this was an office culture that would take time to remedy, and that things would probably get worse before they got better.

¶ 4 After this meeting with Holm, Peggy Quan, the County Human Resources Director, met with each of the women and with other DPAs. During trial, Broyles explained what she was feeling at the time:

It made it very difficult and very demeaning to have other individuals in the office think that I was in the position that I was because I was having a sexual relationship with my boss. It was extremely demeaning and humiliating to me. I felt that once Ed knew about the concern that that was the rumor that was being perpetrated in the office, that he could take some action to correct that, and he did not. It was very humiliating for me to think that I was looked at as someone who was getting special treatment, or perceived special treatment because of a relationship instead of based on my merits as an attorney.

RP at 108-09. Even though Quan said that she would get back to Broyles after her investigation, she did not. Broyles explained that the atmosphere in the office got much worse after the meeting and that she and the other women had to endure cold shouldering, nonresponsiveness, snide remarks, and lack of communication from five male DPAs.

¶ 5 In December 2000, because the atmosphere in the office continued to deteriorate, the four women sought legal advice. They did not retain the attorneys at that point but waited to see if matters would improve. Matters did not improve, and at one staff meeting, Holm even commented that "we also have to deal with this woman issue." RP at 114.

¶ 6 In early 2001, Holm asked Broyles to develop a new domestic violence unit that would handle both misdemeanors and felonies. This change involved extensive coordination between the courts, the defense, the sheriff's office, and assigning four DPAs to handle the case load. Broyles had a target date of July 1, 2001. Broyles encountered resistance to the change from Mark Thompson, the DPA in charge of the misdemeanor unit. Just as her new unit was getting started, Thompson and James Powers obtained Holm's permission to take two of her DPAs to cover the misdemeanor division. After a volatile discussion with Holm about him not supporting her efforts, Broyles found herself crying, hyperventilating, very emotional, and distraught. She then left the office, sought medical care, and followed her doctor's advice to take medical leave from work. In August, the plaintiffs filed their notice of claim against the county.

¶ 7 Broyles returned to work on September 17, 2001, as the supervising attorney in the juvenile division. She described the situation in the office as worse and that she had to endure comments from Holm that she was a queen bee and building her empire. She also described his commenting on women's breasts and other anatomy.

¶ 8 On December 31, 2001, Holm terminated Broyles. Believing that she had been fired in retaliation for her hostile work environment claim, Broyles asked the County Council to reinstate her. The Council granted her request, reinstated her pay back to her termination date, and continued to pay her until she relocated to Oregon in May 2004, even though Holm refused to allow her to work for him.

B. Sargent

¶ 9 Vonda Sargent began working for the Thurston County Prosecutor in 1997. Before Holm took office in January 1999, she prosecuted misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors in district court. During that time, she was promoted from a DPA I to a DPA II. Shortly after Holm took office, he moved Sargent from the misdemeanor division to the felony division to handle the felony preliminary appearance and the non-compliance calendars. In late January early February 2000, Holm asked Sargent to join Broyles on the domestic violence unit. Sargent did not want this transfer, told Holm this, but changed her mind after Harju and Thompson told her she really had no choice. When Sargent had difficulties with Jack Jones, she went to Harju, who was her supervisor. He told her to "just let it go . . . let Jack calm down . . . let it go and let it all die—die down." RP at 500.

¶ 10 During June or July, Sargent began sharing her experiences in the office with Broyles, Peters, and Sackett-DanPullo. This was necessary, she felt, because the office situation was "unbearable," "uncomfortable," and "frightening." RP at 505. Sargent described the office atmosphere as getting more hostile as time progressed. She described how difficult it was to get someone to cover for you, the lack of communication in the office, and being subject to heightened scrutiny.

¶ 11 When the four women DPAs met with Holm in the previously described meeting in November 2000, Sargent said they all related their concerns for sexualized behavior, hostility, and not getting the same advancement opportunities as men. At Holm's request, she too met with Peggy Quan and, though Quan noted Sargent's concerns, Quan never got back to her or did anything as a result of the meeting.

¶ 12 According to Sargent, after the meeting with Holm, the atmosphere in the office became "like walking into enemy camp every morning." RP at 530. Sargent described feeling alone because Holm had moved Sackett-DanPullo to Lacey and had moved both Broyles and Peters to the juvenile building.

¶ 13 Regarding the January 2001 reorganization, Sargent explained that she found that it did not remedy the women's concerns but, to the contrary, promoted the men and shuffled the women out of the main office. One consequence of Broyles taking medical leave was that Sargent was then assigned misdemeanors and Harju took her felony cases. As to whether the reorganization changed Harju's supervisory role, she testified:

Phil Harju, even with that organizational chart, continued to hold himself out as my supervisor in a number of ways, including demanding how I enter and exit the office, demanding to know where I was going and when I was going to be back, demanding to know—demanding that I go to him directly if I needed any leave. So that's why I say that it's just on paper.

RP at 542. She complained to Holm about the reassignment after Broyles took medical leave. His response was that "he could send me back to misdemeanor with the rest of the girls." RP at 544.

¶ 14 In September or October, Sargent left the prosecutor's office for a job at State Farm. She explained why:

I couldn't take it anymore. I had—I—I couldn't give any more. I had been put back in the misdemeanor division, just like Mr. Holm promised me that he would. I was assigned a misdemeanor caseload, just like he promised me that he would. There was no future for me there.

RP at 551.

C. Sackett-DanPullo

¶ 15 Susan Sackett-DanPullo began working for the Thurston County Prosecutor in February 1995. She began with felony preliminary appearances and then moved into misdemeanors. In January 1996, she moved to the juvenile division under Broyles' supervision. After about a year, she moved back to the misdemeanor division as a supervisor. Then, in 1998, moved back to the juvenile division as a supervisor when Broyles was assigned to the felony division.

¶ 16 When Holm took office, he wanted Sackett-DanPullo to spend more time doing trial work, so he relieved her of her supervisory...