Rite Aid Worker’s $4M Jury Win Mostly Upheld After Third Appeal

After more than 13 years and three jury trials, a former Rite Aid employee can keep most of an award of over $4 million for her intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful termination claims, a California appellate court said Friday.

Maria Martinez alleged in her 2008 lawsuit that her former manager made derogatory remarks about her mental health challenges, including depression and anxiety. The supervisor is alleged to have called Martinez “crazy,” “psycho,” and “bipolar” and told her “she needed to see her psychiatrist.” A second manager also told Martinez that she was “mentally a problem” and that she ...