Orange : Woman Settles Bias Suit Against O.C. Register

Rather than risk a lengthy appeal, an Orange woman who won an $885,000 sex-discrimination verdict against the Orange County Register in April has agreed to accept an undisclosed lump sum from the newspaper to settle her claims.

“I’m very pleased. It’s a good amount, a very good amount, and what’s more important are the changes for women at the newspaper that I think this case has produced,” plaintiff Susan Martinolich said Tuesday.

The 43-year-old Martinolich said she could not disclose the settlement figure under terms of the agreement.

In a trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Martinolich had convinced a jury that she was passed over twice for promotions within the newspaper’s circulation department because of her sex.

The $800,000 in punitive damages levied by the jury against the newspaper--in addition to $85,000 in other damages--was among the largest awards in the nation for such a discrimination suit, specialists in the field said.

The newspaper, which has denied any mistreatment of Martinolich, appealed the verdict as excessive. Martinolich also filed a second lawsuit against the newspaper claiming that she was harassed at work in retaliation for bringing her initial claim.