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A Word To The Wise

By Alfred G. Feliu

It is often said that bad facts make bad law. A corollary to that principle may be that notorious clients make for problematic verdicts. Such was the case in Bell v. Helmsley, 2003 WL 1453108 (Sup.Ct. N.Y.Cty. 3/4/03), a trial dominated by the ever-entertaining presence of the Queen of Mean, Leona Helmsley. Her testimony, according to the court, lasted only approximately 21 minutes, yet so inflamed the jury that the court felt required to reduce the resulting punitive damages award from $10 million down to $500,000.

Are there any lessons to be learned from the Bell case? The facts, by now, are well-known. Charles Bell worked at a Helmsley hotel, the Park Lane, in Manhattan. He alleged that Mrs. Helmsley discriminated against him because he is gay. This alleged discrimination led to Helmsley regularly berating him, on occasion pulling on his goatee, lightly slapping his face twice, and ultimately terminating him because of his sexual orientation. The hotel responded that Bell was terminated for performance reasons, including his alleged propensity to give free rooms to his friends. The jury found for Bell and awarded him back pay in the amount of $321,000, $800,000 in future lost wages and benefits, $30,000 in pain and suffering, $24,000 in future pain and suffering, and $10 million in punitive damages. The court struck down the back and front pay awards based on Bell's failure to mitigate (see accompanying box) and, as already noted, reduced the punitive damages award (see “Punitive Damages Take a Beating,” page 1).

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