by Nicole D. Spaur, Esq.

Kerri Bono filed a lawsuit last summer in Rockingham Superior Court against Muzak, LLC, and its executives, Jeffrey Rothman and Scott Eaton, as well as her direct supervisor, Alan Beaudoin.  Ms. Bono asserted several claims against the Defendants, including breach of contract, quid pro quo sexual harassment, hostile environment, battery, and wrongful discharge.  After a trial lasting two weeks, a 12 person jury unanimously found in her favor, and awarded her over one million dollars.

Ms. Bono started working for Muzak in 1999 as an account executive in the territory of New Hampshire and southern Maine.  She worked under the direct supervision of Alan Beaudoin.  She was highly successful as an account executive, even earning awards for her work from Muzak.  However, Ms. Bono claimed that during the course of her employment, she was subjected to ongoing sexual harassment by Mr. Beaudoin. She claimed that he attempted to kiss her and grab her buttocks, prepared compact disks for her containing romantic or sexually-oriented music, told her about sexual relationships between other Muzak employees, and made inquiries into her personal sex life and comments about his own. 

The jury award of nearly $1.13 million is believed to be the largest sexual harassment verdict in New Hampshire.  This award consisted of  $50,000 in damages as a result of the battery; $75,000 in compensatory damages as a result of the sexual harassment; and $1,000,000 in punitive damages, awarded under federal law, as a result of the sexual harassment.  The jury did not find in favor of Ms. Bono on her claim that she was constructively discharged in retaliation for reporting the sexual harassment.  In addition, although the jury did find in her favor on a breach of contract and covenant of good faith claim, it awarded her no damages for this claim.

In sum, this jury verdict certainly reflects a significant negative reaction to sexual harassment in the workplace, and should serve as a sharp reminder to employers of the need to keep sexual harassment out of the workplace and train managers and supervisors on how to properly address and resolve complaints of sexual harassment.