The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s judgment in favor of an Omaha police officer who filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Omaha and the chief of police.
After finding out in 2017 that a 2010 sexual harrassment complaint wasn’t adequately investigated, Katherine Belcastro-Gonzalez filed suit alledging subsequent applications for promotions were denied due to the sex discrimination complaints.
A jury found in favor of Belcastro-Gonzalez and awarded her $700,000 in damages plus attorney’s fees, and the city appealed.
The appeals court dismissed arguments by the city that the district court erred by denying a summary judgement motion and that evidence from Nebraska EEOC proceedings should not have been admitted.
They also upheld the award of attorney’s fees, saying the lower court did not abuse its discretion determining the figure, which included fees from administrative proceedings.
