In the first of many cases filed against Choudhury Bikram to go to trial, the jury sends a clear message – finding in favor of plaintiff on every one of the 25 pending causes. The next step is a consideration of punitive damages which we should know more about today. No matter what, this verdict should influence the defense’s approach to preparing for trial moving forward. The jury clearly was not convinced that evidence of Bikram’s name-calling, profanity, and sexually-charged requests were merely part of his yoga “character” or “act” and not prohibited sex-based discrimination. More information on the case available here.
UPDATE: Bikram Choudhury hit with $6.4 million in punitive damages. The jury found that Choudhury acted with malice, oppression, and fraud in his dealings with the plaintiff. This demonstrates that even in cases where a plaintiff’s hard damages, such as lost earnings, aren’t too high – when you have punitive damages on the line, the exposure increases exponentially. More information on this latest development here.