In 2012, plaintiff Blanca Torres, 55, a quality assurance engineer, was terminated from her position at B.E. Aerospace Inc., along with two other employees. Torres was previously employed by Delco Machine and Gear Inc. from 1989 through 2001, at which time Delco was purchased by B.E. Aerospace. She then worked as the quality assurance engineer at B.E. Aerospace’s Westminster facility for 11 years until she was terminated. Torres claimed that her termination was due to her age and gender. Torres sued her employer, B.E. Aerospace Inc., alleging wrongful termination due to age and gender discrimination. Ceridian Inc., Randy Delaney, Juan Garfias were also previously named as defendants, but they were ultimately removed from the case. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that B.E. Aerospace terminated Torres without warning and told Torres that it had eliminated her position. However, counsel argued that B.E. Aerospace did not actually eliminate Torres’ position, but that it had, in fact, replaced Torres with a 25-year-old male, whom she had trained when he started at B.E. Aerospace in 2011. Thus, plaintiff’s counsel argued that B.E. Aerospace’s act of terminating Torres was motivated by age and gender discrimination. Defense counsel argued that Torres was insubordinate, resistant to the changes that were instituted by her new corporate employer and quality assurance manager, and refused to perform her duties. Counsel further argued that B.E. Aerospace eliminated Torres’ position by dividing her responsibilities between three different employees and that the company did not fill Torres’ position with a replacement hire., Torres worked for Delco/B.E. Aerospace for 23 years before she was terminated in 2012. However, she acknowledged that she was eventually able to find work after three months and was still working at the time of the trial. Torres also claimed that she suffered anxiety from the events and emotional distress as a result of her termination. Thus, Torres sought recovery of $75,000 in past lost earnings and an unspecified amount of damages for her emotional pain and suffering. She also sought recovery of punitive damages. Defense counsel disputed the amount of Torres’ alleged lost earnings, noting that Torres found comparable employment less than three months after she was terminated. Counsel also argued that there was no evidence of Torres having suffered from emotional distress.