Home > Case Studies > Passeri vs. Pacific Life Insurance Company
Passeri vs. Pacific Life Insurance Company
Stacy Passeri was a sales representative for Pacific Life Insurance Company, responsible for the sale of insurance and financial services products to commercial customers.
Beginning in 2001, she began to be sexually harassed at work. This included being touched and grabbed during meetings, while traveling in her car, and even while walking down the street. Comments were made to her about her clothing and appearance. Rumors were started that she was having an extramarital affair with another coworker.
After several months of this, Passeri asked Pacific Life's Human Resources department, as well as her supervisor, to investigate, and to make the harassment stop. It did not. In fact, one of the coworkers who had harassed her the most was promoted to be her supervisor, and Passeri was subject to an ongoing course of professional sabotage and retaliation for requesting an investigation. Ultimately, she was forced out of the company.
Passeri retained Adams Nye to represent her, and we filed a lawsuit on June 25, 2001. The case was tried by Bruce Nye. After a three-week trial, the jury returned a verdict finding that Passeri had been sexually harassed at work, and that this harassment had made her workplace so intolerable that she had no choice but to resign.
A jury awarded her $2.51 million in damages.
