In January 2015, plaintiff Michelle Rex, a council deputy working for a city council member in West Hollywood, complained that fellow council deputy Ian Owens had been eavesdropping and/or wiretapping her private phone calls in her office. She claimed that Owens made a spreadsheet of all of the personal and campaign calls she had made, and released it to the media. Another individual then filed an official complaint against Owens, who was subsequently placed on paid leave by the city of Hollywood. In February 2015, Owens filed a formal complaint against City Council member John Duran, claiming sexual harassment. An investigation into the sexual harassment claim by Owens ensued, and Rex was interviewed. Rex gave testimony in March 2015, confirming that Owens was sexually harassed by Durant. In May 2015, a city staff report suggested that the position of deputy council be eliminated, and in June 2015, the West Hollywood City Council voted four to one to eliminate the position of council deputy. Rex claimed that her position as deputy council was eliminated as a result of her cooperation in the sexual harassment claim made by Owens. She also claimed her termination caused her emotional distress and damaged her reputation. Rex sued the city of West Hollywood. She alleged that the city retaliated against her and wrongfully terminated her employment in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act of 1959. She also alleged that she was ultimately fired for being a whistleblower. Rex’s counsel contended that the position of council deputy had been in place in the city government for approximately 30 years. Thus, her counsel argued that the City Council did not consider eliminating the deputy position and terminating the city’s five full-time deputy councils until after Rex had cooperated with the investigation into Owens claims. Defense counsel contended that the City Council consisted of five part-time members, while the council deputy position was a full-time position, and that the five council deputies made a combined $750,000, plus benefits totaling approximately 35 percent of the salary, annually. Counsel argued that the city saw the council deputy position as unnecessary and one that could be performed by a pool of staffers. Defense counsel further argued that the City Council members, when they voted to eliminate the deputy council position, had not seen the finalized report that included Rex’s statements regarding the sexual harassment claims made by Owens. Counsel contended that Rex testified on March 9, 2015 and that the vote was made on June 15, 2015, a Monday, before the report was made public. Counsel further contended that the council was not told what was in this report prior to their vote and that they were not informed that Rex was a whistleblower. Defense counsel argued that even if the council did have such knowledge, there were legitimate, non-retaliatory reasons and non-discriminatory business reasons to eliminate the position of deputy council. The defense’s municipal government expert testified that the position of deputy council was not necessary in a city the size of West Hollywood (with a population of approximately 35,000) and that it was not necessary to employ full-time deputy council members to work for part-time council members., Rex claimed that the series of events that allegedly led to her termination, and the termination of the position of deputy council, garnered negative media attention, resulting in damage to her good name and reputation. She claimed that this affected her ability to gain employment due to her public image becoming tarnished. She alleged that as a result, she suffered from emotional distress, as well as sleeplessness, nightmares and nausea. Rex claimed that she went from earning $104,000 (as well as approximately 35 percent of her salary in benefits) annually, to earning $22,000 annually. The plaintiff’s expert economist testified that if Rex worked for five more years, she was projected to earn (including benefits) approximately $550,000; if she worked for 7.5 years, she was projected to earn about $750,000; and if she continued working for 10 years, she would have earned approximately $1.1 million. Thus, Rex sought recovery of damages for her past and future loss of income, as well as recovery of damages for her emotional distress. Defense counsel argued that Rex never sought treatment from a physician or mental health provider for her alleged emotional distress and sleeplessness. Defense counsel contended that the council member for whom Rex served as deputy council testified that he was not running for re-election in 2019 and, thus, Rex would not have had her job as of 2019. Thus, defense counsel argued that if the jury was inclined to award damages, it should cap the award at two years.