On Dec. 9, 2009, plaintiff Virginia Cabaluna, 56, a charge nurse at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, was terminated from her position. Cabaluna sued Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. Cabaluna alleged that the defendant discriminated against her based on her age, resulting in her wrongful termination. Cabaluna claimed that despite consistently receiving annual raises and above-average overall performance reviews during approximately 28 years of working for the hospital, she was terminated. She alleged that the reason for her termination was because of her age, 56, and that the hospital’s stated reason for terminating her, based on the alleged harassment of a subordinate due to the subordinate’s religion of being a Jehovah’s Witness, was merely a pretext for age discrimination. In addition, Cabaluna claimed that the alleged harassment did not occur, and that she was really terminated because she was too expensive. The hospital denied discriminating against Cabaluna on the basis of her age, and claimed that age played no role in her termination. Instead, it claimed that it had a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason to discharge Cabaluna based on her unprofessional, unacceptable behavior and insensitivity to a coworker. Thus, defense counsel contended that Cabaluna was lawfully terminated for harassing a subordinate, including repeatedly calling the subordinate a “bi–h,” despite knowing that her actions would be considered offensive., Cabaluna claimed that, due to her cultural and religious beliefs, she felt shame and dishonor as a result of her termination, and had difficulty seeking treatment for her emotional distress. However, she alleged that she was ultimately treated by a licensed family and marriage therapist, who testified as an expert at trial. Cabaluna claimed that despite therapy, she continues to suffer emotional as a result of the hospital’s actions, resulting in weight loss and anxiety. Defense counsel noted that Cabaluna sought no treatment at all after her termination for over 2.5 years and was eventually treated by a family therapist over the last three months before trial.
