$3.3-Million Judgment Against Ralphs Tossed Out

Citing juror misconduct, a San Diego County judge on Thursday threw out a $3.32-million sexual harassment damage award against Ralphs Grocery Co. but paved the way for six female employees to seek a higher amount from the grocery chain.

A juror who was dismissed from the case improperly supplied information to other jurors who used it to calculate the damage award, said Superior Court Judge Joan Weber.

The judge’s decision means that a new jury will have to determine how much in punitive damages Ralphs should pay to six female employees at its Escondido store. During a two-month trial, the women claimed that store manager Roger Misiolek groped them, pelted them with objects and subjected them to outbursts of profanity during a nine-month period.

On June 1, a Vista jury ordered Ralphs to pay the plaintiffs $550,000 for emotional distress and $3.3 million in punitive damages. The sum would have been the largest sexual harassment award in California.

On Thursday, attorneys for Ralphs asked the judge to throw out the entire verdict, citing jury misconduct and other grounds.

But Weber left intact the emotional distress award--along with the jury’s finding that Ralphs management failed to respond properly to Misiolek’s alleged misconduct.

Weber said she was tossing out the damage award because a juror defied court orders when he independently investigated the worth of Ralphs’ parent company.

That juror was eventually dismissed from the trial’s second phase regarding punitive damages, but other jurors used his information to calculate the damage award, according to Philip Edward Kay, an attorney for the women.

Kay said his clients were “ecstatic” at Weber’s decision, saying a new jury would hit Ralphs with an even higher punitive damage award. A new date for the second punitive damage trial will be determined at a court hearing Aug. 14.