Dallas County jury awards $4.4 million in breach of contract lawsuit

Christmas came early for one former employee when, on December 19, a Dallas jury awarded her a multimillion dollar verdict for a breach of an employment contract. Read on.

Dem dry bones

Andrea C. Avellan went to work at Methodist Hospital of Dallas in the residency program. Completion of the program ensures a bright future for a doctor. Her agreement with the hospital provided that she needed to maintain certain performance and professionalism standards to remain in the program. The hospital concluded she was coming up short and put her on a performance improvement plan (PIP). In her opinion, however, the hospital’s performance metrics were wrong, and she should not have been placed on the PIP.

Like the song referenced in the subhead (thigh bone to hip bone to back bone), one thing led to another, and then another. Avellan protested her placement on the PIP, but her appeals were denied. She was placed on probation and ultimately terminated from the program. She claimed that the fact she had a child—and was at the time pregnant with another—caused these adverse employment actions. She sued for pregnancy discrimination, retaliation, and breach of contract.

Verdict

The jury found no discrimination or retaliation. The breach of contract was another matter.