O.C. Physician Ordered to Pay $500,000 in Sex, Slander Case

A Westminster cardiologist must pay $500,000 for sexually harassing one of his employees and slandering another woman by concocting rumors about an affair, an Orange County Superior Court jury decided Monday.

The verdict against Dr. Khiem Nguyen resolves a complicated case that involved three suits combined into one trial and four central players who have the same last name.

The jury found that Khiem Nguyen had sexually harassed a medical assistant, Dana Nguyen of Stanton, and awarded her $75,000, attorneys in the case said.

The jury awarded $300,000 to Aimy Nguyen, one-time manager of Khiem Nguyen’s Little Saigon practice and the subject of rumors the cardiologist spread about a fabricated love affair, lawyers said.

Aimy Nguyen’s husband, Tien Nguyen, was awarded $125,000 for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Aimy and Tien Nguyen, of Huntington Beach, are the only litigants who are related.

Khiem Nguyen’s attorney, Michael A. Hood, could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

In a press release, Tien Nguyen said the verdict may send a message to men within the local Vietnamese community who cling to some traditional views of male-dominated workplaces.

“I trust this verdict will clear my wife’s reputation and raise the standard of how our community conducts itself,” the dermatologist said in the written statement. “People must know that men can’t treat women like pets.”

Khiem Nguyen opened a practice in 1992 in the building owned by Tien Nguyen and managed by Aimy Nguyen, both his former classmates at a private high school in Vietnam, according to testimony in the case.

Khiem Nguyen then launched a campaign to seduce Aimy Nguyen and, when it failed, spread rumors that the two had an affair, according to testimony.

The married couple, who also claim in their suit that Khiem Nguyen groped and propositioned female employees, broke off business ties with the cardiologist, attorneys said.

When Dana Nguyen later filed a sexual harassment suit against Khiem Nguyen, the doctor claimed that Aimy and Tien Nguyen had orchestrated the suit, and he sued them alleging conspiracy to defame his character.

The couple counter-sued, claiming they were victims of slander and emotional distress. Their suit was combined with Dana Nguyen’s case.

An April 28 hearing is scheduled to decide any additional punitive damages owed by Khiem Nguyen to the married couple.