$3.8M Win In U. Of Alabama Harassment Suit

Law360 (September 10, 2024, 5:34 PM EDT) — A federal jury found that a former University of Alabama at Birmingham scientist should receive nearly $4 million in damages after allegedly enduring years of harassment based on her race and Iranian national origin, an assault by her supervisor and a trumped-up arrest after she complained about the mistreatment.

The jury said that research scientist Fariba Moeinpour’s supervisor had called the police in February 2020 to block Moeinpour from escalating her harassment complaints, and that the university should pay Moeinpour $3 million in damages, according to a verdict form entered Monday in Alabama federal court.

The jury also found that Mary Jo Cagle, the university administrator who allegedly made it her business to harass Moeinpour, should be on the hook for $500,000 in compensatory damages and $325,000 in punitive damages, according to a separate verdict form also entered Monday.

According to the lawsuit Moeinpour filed in September 2021, Cagle began harassing the plaintiff about her Iranian national origin and Middle Eastern and Persian race and ethnicity on the first day Moeinpour was brought on to work in the medical school lab run by professor Dr. Clinton J. Grubbs.

The alleged harassment by Cagle included threatening and stalking behavior, telling Moeinpour that “our country does not need your kind” and calling her “bitch.” Cagle’s mistreatment of Moeinpour became more frightening, escalating to the point where Cagle brandished a gun, drove her car at Moeinpour and her daughter, and called Moeinpour a racial slur, according to the complaint.

Complaints to the university human resources department fell on deaf ears, and Grubbs was apparently frightened of Cagle himself, the plaintiff said, adding that the doctor had claimed that “defendant Cagle said that if he fired her, she would send men to kill him and that Defendant Cagle was in the mafia.”

On Feb. 13, 2020, Moeinpour met with Grubbs and asked that something be done about Cagle, the complaint said. Moeinpour suggested she would report Cagle to Grubbs’ supervisor, which made Grubbs agitated and prompted him to say he might kill himself, according to the lawsuit.

Grubbs made a phone call, which he said was to the police, and then told Moeinpour that he would have her arrested and fired to silence her about Cagle’s actions, the plaintiff alleged. He also said any exchanges between him and Moeinpour boiled down to “his word against hers,” to which Moeinpour responded that she could prove what they had talked about, the lawsuit said.

At this point, Grubbs allegedly “grabbed Ms. Moeinpour by the chin and knocked her down, cutting her face with his nails and causing her to bleed.” Moeinpour spent the night in jail and was fired on Feb. 18 of that year, according to the lawsuit.

Grubbs, who wasn’t named as a defendant, eventually retired from the university, Moeinpour’s complaint said.

Her lawsuit included counts for race and national origin harassment and retaliation.

Teri Ryder Mastando, who represents Moeinpour, said in an emailed statement Tuesday that although damages caps under federal law applied to the award against UAB, her client would also be seeking back pay.

“We are very happy with the jury’s verdict in this case. It is a real relief and vindication for our Persian-American client who became a naturalized U.S. citizen decades ago,” Mastando wrote. “The jury listened carefully to all of the evidence, including some important recordings, and found she was telling the truth about what had happened to her.”

Alicia Rohan, UAB’s director of public relations, said in an emailed statement that the school does not tolerate harassment or discrimination.

“We are committed to our values, which include integrity, respect and collaboration, and work to cultivate an environment where all members of our community feel welcome, safe and supported. We respectfully disagree with the verdict in this case involving former employees, and we are considering next steps,” according to the UAB statement.

An attorney for Cagle didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Mary Jo Cagle is represented by Anne R Yuengert and Cortlin Lee Bond of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP.

The UAB Board of Trustees and Kelly Mayer are represented by David Mellon, Emily Traylor Vande Lune and Spencer A. Kinderman of the UAB Office of Counsel; as well as Daniel B. Harris, Lynlee Wells Palmer, Dion Y. Kohler and Parsa Fattahi of Jackson Lewis.

Moeinpour is represented by Teri Ryder Mastando, Eric J. Artrip and D. Anthony Mastando of Mastando & Artrip LLC.

The case is Moeinpour v. Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama et al., case number 2:21-cv-01302 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.