L.A. Jury Awards Record $103 Million in Liberty Mutual Age Discrimination Case

Shegerian & Associates Attorney Justin Shegerian First-Chairs Record-Breaking Trial Win and Cautionary Tale for Businesses

Earlier this month, a Los Angeles jury returned a $103-million verdict against Liberty Mutual, one of the nation’s largest insurers, finding that the insurance company had committed age discrimination, harassment and retaliation against a former employee, Joy Slagel. The result is the largest age discrimination verdict in U.S. history.

Justin Shegerian

The Shegerian & Associates team, which represented Slagel, set some other notable records of their own, as they were led in trial by litigator Justin Shegerian, the youngest first chair on an age discrimination verdict of $20 million or more in U.S. history. The case also marks the first time a Los Angeles-based attorney has achieved a multimillion-dollar age discrimination verdict less than a year after being admitted to the California bar.

The case also serves as a cautionary tale for businesses.

This month, the jury found Liberty Mutual liable after Slagel, a 30-year Liberty Mutual employee with a strong performance record, reported patterns she believed reflected a corporate preference for younger workers. According to testimony, Slagel and other long-tenured employees observed sweeping staffing changes and shifting workplace dynamics that disproportionately impacted older workers.

Despite her three decades of strong performance reviews, Slagel was terminated shortly after filing internal complaints.

At trial, the Shegerian & Associates team, including Justin Shegerian, Mahru Madjidi, Aaron Gbewonyo and Deepika Chandrashekar, argued that Liberty Mutual’s investigation leading to Slagel’s termination was manufactured as a pretext to silence her and remove older, higher-paid employees from the company.

The jury agreed, siding with Slagel on all three causes of action.

“This verdict is a resounding message to corporations nationwide,” said Shegerian. “Age discrimination is illegal, it is harmful, and juries will hold employers accountable. The result is meaningful, not just because of its size, but because of the long, difficult road it took to get here, and the vindication it brings to our courageous client, Joy, who fought for years. This victory marks a better day, not just for Joy, but for employees everywhere.”

This case’s long history dates back to its initial filing in 2017, with a trial court eventually dismissing all claims on summary judgment, even going as far as imposing over $70,000 in sanctions on the plaintiff. Shegerian & Associates appealed and the Appellate Court reversed the judgment in 2023, bringing the case back to life.

Slagel, who started working at Liberty Mutual in 1985, alleged that she had been investigated and ultimately fired from her position in retaliation for complaining against ageist hiring practices that she started noticing in 2012.

Even though prior performance reviews indicated that Slagel was a model employee, she alleged her internal complaints to Liberty Mutual management led the company to investigate her on claims that she had misled a client from the Walt Disney company about a social media report. At trial, Justin Shegerian and his team disproved this narrative, using internal documents and witness testimony.

“Liberty Mutual claimed that Joy was being dishonest to Disney, their client,” explained Shegerian. “We called that person in from Disney, and we were able to show that Joy was never dishonest with Disney. Disney testified to that effect on the stand.”

Shegerian also noted that to prove age discrimination, harassment and retaliation, he and his team used testimony from other long-term Liberty Mutual employees who had been fired after 2012.

“We had four witnesses who came in and testified to exactly Joy’s assertion that younger employees were replacing older ones,” said Shegerian. “We also presented Liberty Mutual HR documents outlining an explicit strategy to hire younger employees.”

The verdict award included $20 million in non-economic compensatory damages and $83 million in punitive damages, adding to a national record sum of $103 million.

The case was only Shegerian’s fourth jury trial after graduating from law school and passing the California Bar in early 2025. He shared that he’s proud to follow in the footsteps of his father, Carney Shegerian, a trailblazing plaintiff-side litigator and founder of Shegerian & Associates.

“I’m grateful to the jury for recognizing age discrimination and refusing to tolerate it,” said Justin Shegerian. “I’m also grateful for the opportunity to represent clients like Joy, who stood up for herself and others. It’s rewarding to represent someone who is so genuinely deserving of this result. It’s definitely the high point of my career so far, and I’m just getting started.”

Information for this article was sourced from Shegerian & Associates.