In August 2008 plaintiff Ani Chopourian, 45, was terminated from her position as a surgical physicians’ assistant in the cardiovascular surgery unit of Mercy General Hospital, a Sacramento hospital owned and operated by Catholic Healthcare West. Chopourian sued Mercy General and Catholic Healthcare West, claiming hostile work environment, retaliation, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, defamation, and violations of California labor law. The case went to trial Jan. 30, 2012, but ended in a mistrial on Feb. 2012. A retrial subsequently started on Feb. 29, 2012. During the retrial, Chopourian claimed that during her two years of employment in the surgical unit she was subjected on a daily basis to unwanted sexual advances, physical contact, and inappropriate and demeaning sexual comments. She also claimed she and other physicians’ assistants were denied meal breaks required under California law. She alleged that after she began making written and verbal reports to hospital officials about these violations, incidents, and lapses in patient and employee safety, including surgical errors, she became the subject of unwarranted disciplinary actions in retaliation, culminating in her termination. She alleged that her final complaint was filed less than one week prior to her termination. Chopourian claimed that the defendant’s false claims about the reasons for her termination prevented her from working for a year. She also claimed that when she secured a new position with Radiological Associates of Sacramento, providing gynecological surgery assistance in various hospitals, including the Catholic Healthcare West’s Mercy San Juan Hospital, but that after she had filed her suit, the defendants wrongfully claimed she had violated medical privacy laws, resulting in the loss of her hospital privileges and new job. Chopourian alleged that while she did preserve evidence of her patient safety claims, those records fell under the whistleblower exception in federal medical privacy laws. Mercy General and Catholic Healthcare West denied any hostile work environment, retaliation, interference, defamation, and labor law violations. They also denied Chopourian was the subject of any sexual harassment or inappropriate comments, and that all appropriate remedial measures were taken to prevent harassment. Defense counsel argued that Chopourian’s position was exempt from the meal breaks requirement and that she had signed a meal waiver. Counsel also argued that Chopourian slept in the break room, was late for work and was terminated after failing to report while on-call. Defense counsel contended that Chopourian had taken protected patient information from the hospital in violation of state and federal law, and that she was denied hospital privileges for claiming on her application that she had never been terminated from a health care position., Chopourian claimed she experienced severe emotional distress both during and after the termination of her employment, leading to sleep disorders, nightmares, digestive disorders, depression, anxiety and premature menopause. She also claimed she was unemployed for a year after her termination, and that the defendants’ actions caused her to be terminated from her next job after eight months. She alleged that the defendants’ actions damaged her professional reputation so severely that she has been unable to find employment since that time. Thus, Chopourian sought recovery of an unspecified amount of damages for her past and future lost income, mental anguish and loss of reputation, as well as recovery of punitive damages.