In Re Porter

539 F.3d 889 (8th Cir. 2008)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P sued Mr. Speedy Car Care Center, John Huffer, D, and PorJohn Enterprises, LLC for sexual harassment, retaliation, and constructive discharge under Title VII. Huffer and D were the owners of Mr. Speedy Car Care Center, a partnership. P alleged that Huffer sexually harassed her and that Huffer and D retaliated against her after she reported the sexual harassment to her supervisor and D. Huffer constantly asked her out, called her cell phone, and left messages, saying he missed her and wanted her to come over and cuddle with him. He asked her for sex numerous times and offered things such as a car and a house in return, but she declined. Huffer on multiple occasions grabbed her breasts, her buttocks, and her crotch, and that she pushed him away each time. When P was retrieving supplies from a closet, Huffer followed her, closed the door, pulled her from behind to his groin area, and kissed her neck. Sells pushed him away and ran crying to the bathroom. P complained to her direct supervisor, Robert Jones, the general manager. Jones blamed P and said she should not flirt with Huffer. Sells continued to complain to Jones and played the messages from Huffer on her cell phone for Jones, but Jones did nothing. P complained to D. One day Huffer kept D in a car with the door locked for forty-five minutes. He alternated between being nice and yelling at her for telling people what he had done. He also grabbed her arm and leg. P had called another employee who could hear Huffer's and P's voices for about fifteen minutes and could tell from P's voice that she needed help. Finally, d called Huffer, and Huffer returned P to the car wash. D gave P a memo which stated that all the contact was consensual and told P if she refused to sign it she would be terminated. P did not sign the memo and refused to return to work. P got the verdict against Mr. Speedy Car Center, Huffer, and D, for $360,000. The jury found that D retaliated against P. The jury awarded P punitive damages in addition to actual damages. D then filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7. P filed an adversary complaint against him claiming that the damages award was excepted from discharge under § 523(a)(6). The bankruptcy court gave collateral estoppel effect to the judgment, finding that the jury in the underlying case necessarily found that D willfully and maliciously injured P, and accordingly, that the judgment was non-dischargeable under § 523(a)(6). The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel affirmed. D appealed.