Zazenski v. Danner et al, No. 5:2012cv02344 - Document 38 (N.D. Cal. 2013)
Court Description: FINAL JUDGMENT in favor of Teresa Zazenski. Signed by Judge Whyte on 10/4/2013. (rmwlc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/4/2013)
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Zazenski v. Danner et al Doc. 38 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA United States District Court For the Northern District of California 10 SAN JOSE DIVISION 11 TERESA ZAZENSKI, Case No. C-12-2344-RMW 12 Plaintiff, 13 FINAL JUDGMENT v. 14 15 16 JILLIAN DANNER AND THE SOCIAL VISTA, LLC., [Re Docket No. 35] Defendants. 17 18 19 On September 10, 2013, the court adopted the Report and Recommendation of the 20 magistrate judge, entered default judgment, but deferred awarding damages until the court could 21 hold an evidentiary hearing. Dkt. No. 35. On October 4, 2013, the court held an evidentiary 22 hearing to determine damages. 23 As the Report and Recommendation noted, a plaintiff cannot recover damages under both 24 contract and fraud. See Roam v. Koop, 41 Cal. App. 3d 1035, 1039, 116 Cal. Rptr. 539 (Ct. App. 25 1974). Because the fraud damages are not as well supported by the evidence and speculative, the 26 court awards damages under a breach of contract theory. This excludes an award for emotional 27 distress and punitive damages because they not available under contract law. See Erlich v. Menezes, 28 21 Cal. 4th 543, 558 (1999); Quigley v. Pet, Inc., 162 Cal. App. 3d 877, 887 (Ct. App. 1984). FINAL JUDGMENT Case No. C-12-2344-RMW SW -1- Dockets.Justia.com Based on the evidence presented, the court is satisfied that plaintiff Teresa Zazenski, has 1 2 proven the following damages: • 3 • 4 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 $63,141.33 for total lost wages from March 31, 2011, through April 16, 2012; $11,918.04 for unused vacation days, promised paid severance days, worked holidays, and unused sick leave; $9,296.43 for unreimbursed business expenses; $1,000 for the promised and unpaid technology allowance; $8,550 for lost unemployment benefits. 1 The court declines to award further damages or attorney’s fees. The court accepts that Mrs. 9 United States District Court For the Northern District of California 10 Zazenski could have provided additional testimony about the interest on her house, the value of 11 Social Vista, and the emotional distress she suffered from not being paid. The court also accepts 12 that Mr. Zazenski would have similarly testified as counsel represented. Nevertheless, Mrs. 13 Zazenski’s other theories of damages are simply too speculative and not sufficiently supported. Therefore, the court orders that Teresa Zazenski is entitled to recover a total of $93,905.80 14 15 from Jillian Danner and the Social Vista, LLC. 16 17 18 19 20 Dated: October 4, 2013 _________________________________ Ronald M. Whyte United States District Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 1 27 28 This number is lower than plaintiff requested because California only provides a maximum of $450 per week for unemployment benefits and requires a one week waiting period before an individual is eligible. The court calculates that there were 20 full weeks between the date Mrs. Zazenski was let go and the date she got a new job. Thus her lost unemployment was 19 weeks * $450. FINAL JUDGMENT Case No. C-12-2344-RMW SW -2-
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