On May 27, 2010, plaintiff Philip Braden, 62, a department manager for copy and print at Office Depot’s Oxnard store, was terminated from his job. Office Depot Inc. was in the midst of closing some of its stores and in May 2010, was in the process of closing its Oxnard store location. As a result, it had to transfer and lay off several employees. During the process, Office Depot’s district manager, Joe Gonzalez, had to decide between Braden and another candidate, a 27-year-old, for an available department manager position at another store location. After Gonzalez consulted with both store managers, each with varying experience, he offered the position to the 27-year-old candidate. Braden was subsequently laid off from employment on May 27, 2010. Braden sued Office Depot Inc. and Gonzalez. He alleged age discrimination, disability discrimination, wrongful termination (in violation of public policy), and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Prior to trial, Gonzalez was dismissed and Braden abandoned his causes of action for disability discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial on the claims of age discrimination and wrongful termination against Office Depot only. Braden claimed that he had he had been with Office Depot for a significant period of time, including working as a department manager for 17 years, while the 27-year-old candidate had only worked there for seven months when that candidate was chosen for the department manager position. Braden further claimed that he was more qualified than the 27-year-old and that the chosen candidate didn’t even have a performance review at that time. Thus, he claimed he was discriminated against due to his age, as well as work-related , which he alleged Office Depot considered when determining who to offer the position to and who to lay off. He further alleged that the 27-year-old was earning a smaller salary, which also factored into Office Depot’s decision. Office Depot argued that the 27-year-old was the more qualified candidate for the position made available. It claimed that the open position was for a general department manager and that Braden’s most recent experience was as a copy and print department manager. It also claimed that Braden struggled in his prior position as a customer service department manager, and that his preference was to remain a department manager in copy and print. Thus, Office Depot denied any age discrimination against Braden, noting that there was no history of any ageist jokes or comments, and claiming that the plaintiff himself admitted to never being discriminated against prior to his termination., Braden claimed damages for lost earnings in the amount of $17 an hour for 40 hours per week from the date of his termination on May 27, 2010, up until he is 66 years old. He also claimed he suffered emotional distress as a result of being terminated and denied the position, and that he now has trouble sleeping. Thus, Braden asked the jury for $100,000 in damages for his past pain and suffering and $100,000 for his future pain and suffering. In addition, he sought recovery of punitive damages for Office Depot’s alleged malice, fraud and oppression. Defense counsel argued that Braden was laid off for legitimate business reasons and was owed zero damages for lost earnings. Counsel also argued that Braden failed to mitigate his economic damages, since he did not seek new employment after recovering from shoulder surgery in October 2010, even though he was seeking lost earnings for the time he would have worked with Office Depot during that same period. Defense counsel further disputed Braden’s non-economic damages, noting that the plaintiff did not seek any treatment for his alleged emotional distress. Counsel also contended that Braden traveled extensively after being laid off, which was not consistent with someone suffering from severe emotional distress.