Bergstein & Ullrich defend $2.6 million sexual harassment verdict

Hygienist Pushes To Preserve $2.6M Award In Harassment Suit

By Irene Spezzamonte

Law360 (December 5, 2022, 1:58 PM EST) -- A New York federal jury correctly awarded nearly $2.6 million to a former dental hygienist in her lawsuit alleging yearslong sexual assault at a Manhattan dental office, the woman said, arguing that the hostile work environment she faced destroyed her life.

Fortesa Qorrolli said in a memorandum on Friday that her life was turned upside down after facing the sexual assault Metropolitan Dental Associates allowed a supervisor to carry out for years, and she urged the court to deny the business's bid for a new trial in her Title VII suit.

"While defendants challenge the damages as excessive, the record supports the pain and suffering and punitive damages, as plaintiff testified extensively about the long-term emotional harm caused by the hostile work environment, and her mother corroborated this testimony," Qorrolli said.

Metropolitan Dental; Mario Orantes, the supervisor Qorrolli accused of sexually assaulting her; and Paul I. Cohen, the owner of the practice, whom Qorrolli said failed to take her complaints seriously, asked the court in November for a new trial.

The business, Orantes and Cohen said the $2 million in punitive damages and $575,000 for emotional distress the jury determined in October that Qorrolli was entitled to receive was excessive. Qorrolli's "repeated emotional outbursts infused the jury with emotion and sympathy," Metropolitan Dental, Orantes and Cohen argued.

But Qorrolli said Friday that that argument is rootless, arguing that the verdict was not unjust because "at least every other day for six years" she experienced "persistent, unwanted sexual advances" that caused anxiety and depression that she is still dealing with.

Qorrolli said that Metropolitan Dental, Orantes and Cohen belittled the evidence she presented about the abuse she experienced, including Orantes' statements that she did not perform her job well after turning down his sexual advances.

"This 'vicious cycle' made the work environment more unbearable for plaintiff, as her refusal to have sex with Orantes caused constant worry that she would lose her job and be unable to support her family," Qorrolli said.

The $575,000 the jury said Qorrolli was entitled to for emotional distress was also reasonable, she said, because "the record shows extensive pain and suffering caused by the sexual harassment, particularly since the work environment darkened plaintiff's sunny personality."

Qorrolli filed her Civil Rights Act suit against the business, Orantes and Cohen in July 2018. She said the company's management failed to address Qorrolli's concerns that Orantes was preying on young female workers by pressuring them for sex and then retaliating against them if they refused.

She said she began working for the company in 2009 and was known as a productive and reliable employee, but her career was derailed by Orantes' behavior.

Due to the harassment and hostile work environment she faced, Qorrolli said, she was forced to resign in May 2016.

Zack Holzberg of the Derek Smith Law Group PLLC, who is representing Qorrolli, said Monday: "We are confident in the jury's findings. The factual record supports their determination, and we believe that the verdict should be undisturbed."

Representatives of Metropolitan Dental, Orantes and Cohen did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

Qorrolli is represented by Zack Holzberg and Derek Smith of the Derek Smith Law Group PLLC and by Stephen Bergstein of Bergstein & Ullrich.