In May 2014, plaintiff Barbara Anderton, 61, a branch manager for Bass Underwriters, was terminated from her position. Anderton was previously responsible for managing a team of underwriters, branch training, and ensuring that the Sacramento office met company target revenue goals. However, she claimed she was terminated due to her age and gender, and in retaliation for opposing age and gender discrimination. Anderton sued Bass Underwriters Inc., alleging age discrimination, gender discrimination, and retaliation. Anderton claimed that executives at Bass Underwriters developed a “boy’s club culture,” where it was very difficult for women to succeed at the company. Specifically, she claimed that the culture included male employees going on golf outings, going on hunting trips, playing fantasy football, and going out to drink and socialize together. She further claimed that female employees at Bass Underwriters were generally excluded from such trips and outings and that there was no company trip or outing that female employees at Bass Underwriters went on together. According to plaintiff’s counsel, the Executive Vice President for Bass Underwriters, Bill Turgeon, made trips out to California to visit the company’s Los Angeles and San Francisco offices. Turgeon would arrange and attend male-only golf outings and fly back to Florida without even visiting, or merely checking in with, his only California female branch manager, Anderton. However, on one trip in early 2012, when Turgeon did visit the Sacramento office, he announced that he was taking a male, Sacramento underwriter and two others so that he could open a San Diego office. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that when Anderton inquired into whether the male underwriter’s book of business would remain in the Sacramento office, Turgeon responded by stating, “Well what do you care, you are getting ready to retire anyways!” Anderton claimed that she objected to Turgeon’s comments, and informed him that she had absolutely no intention of retiring, whatsoever. She alleged that in response, Turgeon stated, “How old are you anyways? You are going to turn over the reins of this office to Kevin Cullinan.” Plaintiff’s counsel noted that a few days before Anderton’s termination, executives at Bass Underwriters held a meeting to discuss the future of the company’s Sacramento office. Counsel contended that during the meeting, Bass executives decided to terminate Anderton and promote a less productive 30-year-old male employee. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that the executives of Bass Underwriters ultimately terminated Anderton and promoted the young, male employee because they knew that they could get 31 years of additional work from the male. Subsequently, within days of the meeting being held, the executives at Bass Underwriters fired Anderton and promoted the male employee that same afternoon. Throughout trial, defense counsel maintained that Anderton had walked out of the company due to a misunderstanding and voluntarily quit. Counsel denied that Turgeon made the comments alleged by Anderton, and argued that Anderton left Bass Underwriters because people that were close to her, including family members, left and went to work for a competitor, where Anderton eventually took a position. However, in response, Anderton claimed that all of the individuals in question left Bass Underwriters due to their own independent reasons., Anderton, who had worked for Bass Underwriters since 1999, claimed that she suffered a loss of income as a result of the termination. She also claimed that the actions of Bass Underwriters caused her emotional distress. In addition, she claimed that after being terminated, Bass Underwriters went on to tarnish her reputation. During trial, witnesses testified that executives from Bass Underwriters threatened Century Surety, a carrier that Anderton had been working with, by telling Century Surety that if it worked with Anderton within one year of her termination, Bass Underwriters would pull their book of business with Century Surety. An email from Anderton’s subsequent employer also discussed how Bass Underwriters “made a special slander-Barbara tour” after it had fired her. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that Bass Underwriters’ conduct prevented Anderton’s subsequent employer from obtaining a contract with Lloyd’s of London (an insurance carrier) and fueled Anderton’s emotional distress. Furthermore, counsel argued that due to Bass Underwriters’ egregious conduct, Anderton’s subsequent employment should not offset Anderton’s compensatory damages award. Thus, plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award Anderton $1,188,000 in economic damages, which amounted to four years of lost wages for Anderton. Counsel also asked the jury to award Anderton $1.25 million in non-economic emotional distress damages. In addition, plaintiff’s counsel argued that the actions of Bass Underwriters constituted malicious and oppressive conduct, and asked the jury to award Anderton $7.1 million in punitive damages.