In May 2008, plaintiff Malcolm Thomas, 35, a police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department, injured his knee while on duty. Thomas claimed that his sergeant, Chris Costley, held the injury against him and pressured him to work against the physical restrictions that made his knee injury worse. Thomas reported his claims to the internal affairs division. Four days later, Thomas’ badge and gun were temporarily taken away and he was placed on medical leave. Thomas sued Costley and the city of Los Angeles, alleging disability discrimination, retaliation and other claims. The matter proceeded to trial, which resulted in the jury awarding Thomas $705,804 on July 23, 2010. The city appealed the trial court judgment, and the Court of Appeal reversed the verdict. The matter was retried, but it resulted in a mistrial. The matter was then tried again, but there was a hung jury. The matter ultimately proceeded to a fourth trial, which was held in 2019. That trial only dealt with Thomas’ claims of disability discrimination against the city. The city’s counsel contended that Thomas was not discriminated against and that all actions taken against Thomas were warranted., Thomas still works for the Los Angeles Police Department. During the period of 2012 to 2014, while the original trial was being appealed, Thomas was offered a desk job at the department. He returned to the Los Angeles police academy for a short period in 2016 before leaving again for his first assignment. Thomas claimed that he suffered emotional distress as a result the discrimination he faced. Defense counsel contended that the city offered Thomas a desk job in lieu of his officer position, but that Thomas declined to take the offer. As a result, defense counsel argued that Thomas’ alleged loss of earnings should be offset due to Thomas’ failure to mitigate his damages.