Former Employee Awarded $45,000 in Defamation Lawsuit

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In the case of Torosyan v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, an employee alleged that his employer breached an implied contract of employment and defamed him. In law, defamation is the action of damaging another individual's good reputation. The employer appealed from a judgment of the trial court which found in favor of the employee on both counts.

The employee accepted a position with the employer after he was assured verbally that he would be terminated only for cause. The employee manual had the same assertion. The employee was terminated on the pretense of falsifying an expense report. The district court found that charge to be unfounded and found for the employee on the counts of breach of contract and defamation. On appeal, the court rejected all of the employer's claims and found that (1) the jurisdiction of the district court to decide the case had not expired prior to its issuance of its decision under Connecticut law, because the employer's waiver of the 120 day requirement was not secured by fraud, (2) the district court's finding of an implied contract between the parties was not clearly erroneous, (3) the district court's finding that the discharge constituted a breach of contract was not clearly erroneous, (4) the employee was defamed by the employer's falsely attributing his discharge to his falsifying of company documents, the statements were published, and the employer lost his qualified privilege to make the statements because they were made with actual malice, and (5) the damages award was proper.

The court affirmed the judgments of the district court in favor of the employee on the counts of breach of an implied contract and defamation. “Finally, we address the propriety of the award of noneconomic damages” said the court. “The trial court found that, as a result of the defamation and the resulting discharge, ‘the [employee] suffered not only loss of income, but also suffered emotional distress, embarrassment, anxiety and humiliation . . . .’ To compensate the [employee], the court awarded noneconomic damages in the amount of $45,000. Once again, we are persuaded that the award of damages must be upheld.”

At Maya Murphy, P.C., our personal injury attorneys are dedicated to achieving the best results for individuals and their family members and loved ones whose daily lives have been disrupted by injury, whether caused by a motor vehicle or pedestrian accident, a slip and fall, medical malpractice, a defective product, or otherwise. Our attorneys are not afraid to aggressively pursue and litigate cases and have extensive experience litigating personal injury matters in both state and federal courts, and always with regard to the unique circumstances of our client and the injury he or she has sustained. 

Please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.

Source: Torosyan v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, 234 Conn. 1, 662 A.2d 89, 1995 Conn. LEXIS 200, 10 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1313 (Conn. 1995)