In 2007, plaintiff Mitsuyo Kuwahara, a 66-year-old Japanese female, was promoted from a supervising teacher to assistant campus principal for the Santa Monica campus of Asahi Gakuen, a part-time Japanese school with locations throughout southern California. Kuwahara had worked at Asahi Gakuen for approximately 30 years. However, she claimed that she was subjected to harassment and retaliation by Sueko Kawata, a female who became the principal of the Santa Monica campus in 2007. Kuwahara claimed that when she complained of the treatment, she was told that she would be demoted to a supervising teacher and transferred to the Torrance campus. Kuwahara ultimately left her position in April 2010. Kuwahara sued Asahi Gakuen and Kawata. Kuwahara alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted gender discrimination and harassment, national origin discrimination and harassment, gender retaliation, and constructive discharge. She also claimed that Asahi Gakuen was negligent for failing to prevent the harassment, discrimination and/or retaliation. Kuwahara also alleged wage-and-hour claims, but these claims were resolved prior to trial. Kuwahara was one of two assistant campus principals at the Santa Monica campus. The other was a male. Both would lead various ceremonies at the campus. Kuwahara claimed that Kawata treated her differently because she is female, as if she was subservient and in a lower position than her male colleague. She also claimed that Kawata told her that men should be leading the ceremonies, and not women, and that, instead, women should be preparing and helping. Kuwahara claimed that Kawata also echoed these sentiments in an email. Kuwahara alleged that when she complained about the mistreatment and discriminatory statements, she was retaliated against for making the complaints. She claimed that she was reprimanded and told by a vice principal that because she was a Japanese woman, she shouldn’t complain and that she must obey her boss or she would be fired. She also claimed that the vice principal told her that Asahi Gakuen is a special place for Japanese society in America and that she complained because she had been in America for too long. Kuwahara contended that she never received a negative performance review prior to 2007, but that after she complained, Kawata began monitoring her classroom, her work performance was criticized, she was given negative performance reviews by Kawata, and she was made to scrub tables even though there was a janitorial staff at the school. Kuwahara added that the humiliating behavior was witnessed by members of the Parent Teacher’s Association, who asked why she was made to scrub tables. Thus, she claimed the school did not protect her. In addition, she claimed that in early 2010, she was told by the Executive Director and Kawata that she would be demoted to a supervising teacher position and that she would be transferred from the Santa Monica campus to the Torrance campus, thereby cutting her pay approximately in half and increasing her travel time. Kuwahara alleged that she was so shamed, humiliated, devastated and betrayed that she was forced to resign from her position in April 2010. Defense counsel contended that Kuwahara was a subpar performer, did not take responsibility, had problems with Kawata and was hyper sensitive. Thus, counsel argued that Kuwahara was unfit to do the job of an assistant campus principal, made many mistakes on the job, was insubordinate, and could not control her classroom, among many other criticisms., Kuwahara worked at the school for approximately 30 years, most of her adult working life. She testified that she suffered somatic symptoms, such as throwing up on herself, vertigo and dizziness, all of which she claimed were caused by the harassment, ongoing mistreatment and failure of Asahi Gakuen to protect her. Thus, Kuwahara sought recovery for her past loss of earnings at the time of her constructive discharge and for her future loss of earnings for the time she would have continued to work. She also sought recovery of noneconomic damages for her pain and suffering due to her emotional distress. Defense counsel contended that the alleged manifestations were all representative of a pre-existing personality disorder that Kuwahara had suffered since early adulthood that was not otherwise specific or previously diagnosed. The defense’s expert forensic psychiatrist testified that Kuwahara suffered from a pre-existing personality disorder, which was not otherwise specified, that caused Kuwahara to misinterpret numerous neutral workplace interactions and to react severely to them. Defense counsel noted that Kuwahara told her treating therapist that she felt fine shortly after resigning and that Kuwahara stopped going to therapy, only to start up again later.