In May 2010, plaintiff Blanca Gonzalez, 34, was working as the personal assistant to Santos Lagunas, the owner of Valley View Motors, in Santa Ana, when Gonzalez’s husband had to move to Mexico. Gonzalez claimed that after her husband moved, Lagunas began a systematic abuse of her and demanded that she have sex with him.She further claimed that Lagunas knew that she could not leave the job and took advantage of that while her husband was trapped in Mexico trying to fix his immigration status. However, Gonzalez was ultimately terminated from her position on March 31, 2013. Gonzalez sued Lagunas and L.B.S. Inc., which was doing business as Valley View Motors. Gonzalez initially alleged that Lagunas’ actions constituted rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, sexual harassment, and wrongful termination. However, by the time of trial, she only alleged claims for wrongful termination and sexual harassment. Gonzalez further alleged that L.B.S. was liable for Lagunas’ actions. Gonzalez claimed that after her husband moved to Mexico, Lagunas began demanding that if she did not have sex with him, than her job would be in jeopardy and he would evict her and her children from the home that she rented from him and lived in. She also claimed that Lagunas would force sex upon her and slap her, as well as force a beer bottle into her vagina on at least one occasion. Gonzalez maintained that she could not leave the job, as she had nowhere to go and not enough money to survive. She also maintained that she could not get another job because she did not have a high school diploma or a general education diploma. Gonzalez claimed that Lagunas knew that she could not leave the job and subsequently took advantage of the situation while her husband was trapped in Mexico. Furthermore, she claimed that there was no sexual harassment policy at work and that she had no one to complain to about the sexual harassment since it was Lagunas, the owner and boss of the company, who was sexually harassing her. In addition, Gonzalez claimed that she was ultimately terminated from her position because the Lagunas’ wife found out about the sexual relationship and wanted her fired. Plaintiff’s counsel was allowed to introduce the claim at trial that Lagunas had engaged in a prior sexual affair with his prior personal assistant. Gonzalez claimed that Lagunas had sex with a prior personal assistant in a room at the Surf and Sand Hotel and that she and her husband had witnessed it. Defense counsel denied that Lagunas would slap Gonzalez and denied the bottle incident occurred. Counsel contended that Gonzalez and Lagunas had a consensual affair and that Gonzalez would tell Lagunas that she loved him. Counsel also contended that Gonzalez would tell others that she loved Lagunas and that she admitted to the affair. Defense counsel further argued that Gonzalez was never terminated, but that Gonzalez simply stopped coming to work. Counsel contended that Lagunas and the company allowed Gonzalez to drive a company vehicle for three weeks after the date she left and that Gonzalez even came back to help Lagunas with paperwork from the Department of Motor Vehicles three weeks after she left. Thus, defense counsel argued that those actions demonstrated that Gonzalez had not been fired., Gonzalez began working at the dealership in June 2007 and became the personal assistant in May 2010. However, she alleged that she was terminated on March 31, 2013. Thus, she claimed she suffered a loss of earnings as a result of her termination. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Gonzalez’s husband became suicidal when he learned that his wife was allegedly being sexually harassed by Lagunas. Gonzalez’s husband even testified that he thought about killing himself by jumping off a bridge. Gonzalez claimed that she became psychologically depressed as a result of Lagunas’ treatment of her. She subsequently treated with a therapist about 20 times and claimed that she will need at least one year of further, weekly treatment for her major depression. The plaintiff’s clinical psychology expert testified that he diagnosed Gonzalez with major depression in the moderate to severe degree with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The expert further opined that Gonzalez could be depressed for the rest of her life. (Gonzalez initially also claimed that she suffered a prolapsed uterus as a result of the bottle incident. However, she did not assert that claim at time of trial.) Thus, plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award $230,300 in total damages and suggested that the jury could award more if it felt it was appropriate. Specifically, Gonzalez sought recovery of $10,000 for her loss of earnings, $11,200 for her total past therapy expenses, and $9,100 for one year (52 weeks) of future therapy at a cost of $175 per session. She also sought recovery of $150,000 in non-economic damages for her past pain and suffering, and $50,000 in non-economic damages for one year of future pain and suffering. In addition, Gonzalez claimed that Lagunas’ sexual harassment actions constituted malice, oppression or fraud. Thus, she sought recovery of punitive damages against Lagunas. Defense counsel chose not to call their experts at trial.