SAN DIEGO -- On April 21, a nearly $16 million judgment against Allstate Insurance Company for firing an employee after he was arrested for a domestic dispute was remanded in the Court of Appeals Fourth Appellate District, Division One, in the State of California.
Michael Tilkey sued after he was fired, shortly after the dispute with his girlfriend, Jacqueline Mann, which led to his arrest. He claimed wrongful termination (in violation of Labor Code section 432.7) and compelled, self-published defamation. Allstate said it would have fired him regardless of the incident because he used company resources to send inappropriate emails. Tilkey was awarded $2,663,137 in compensatory damages and $15,978,822 in punitive damages in the lower court.
“We agree that Allstate did not violate section 432.7 when it terminated Tilkey’s employment based on his plea and his participation in an Arizona domestic nonviolence program and will reverse that judgment,” wrote Associate Justice Richard D. Huffman. “However, we conclude compelled self-published defamatory is a viable theory, and substantial evidence supports the verdict that the statement was not substantially true, so we will affirm that portion of the judgment.”
Administrative Presiding Justice Judith McConnell and Associate Justice Patricia Guerrero concurred as the appeals court also noted that the multimillion-dollar punitive damages amount wasn’t balanced with the $2.6 million in compensatory damages, so the punitive damages were remanded for the lower court to recalculate.
Tilkey was charged with criminal damage deface, disorderly conduct (which both included domestic violence charges), possession or use of drug paraphernalia and disruptive behavior. He pled guilty to disorderly conduct and the other charges were dropped, but he was fired from Allstate after 30 years. Allstate told him he was fired “for threatening behavior and/or acts of physical harm or violence to another person,” according to the opinion.