Visiting federal Judge Mark W. Bennett of the Northern District of Iowa presided over the five-day trial.
After two days of deliberations, jurors awarded Dr. Masha Maxim $30,000 for lost income and benefits for breach of contract; compensatory damages of $30,000 for her claim of wrongful discharge in violation of public policy; and $100,000 in punitive damages for Dental Care’s allowing dental assistants to perform orthodontic work.
Regarding the jury’s finding that Maxim had “battered” Scot Thompson, owner/partner of Dental Care, attorney Michael Dotts, the defendants’ counsel, told Variety: “Often we hear about ‘assault and battery.’ ‘Assault’ basically means to threaten to hit and ‘batter’ means to actually hit.”
The jury awarded Thompson $12,000 for the emotional distress he suffered as a result of being hit by Maxim, and $50,000 for the assault, Dotts said.
He added, “The ‘net’ is a loss to the defendants but it is not such a serious loss that this case will continue on. The defendants do disagree that they breached Dr. Maxim’s contract but respect the jury’s decision and thank the jury for sorting the whole thing out. The trial cost each side probably more than $68,000 and an appeal will cost each side close to $68,000 so hopefully this case, that has been a burden to both sides for more than a year, will now be over.”
Dotts’ co-counsel was Ray Quichocho.
They represented Dental Care Saipan and its owners/partners Rod Stewart and Thompson.
Stephen J. Nutting, who represented Maxim, told reporters: “We are very happy about the verdict. Given the circumstances of the alleged assault, I think the verdict was a little excessive. But that’s the jury’s province. I don’t want to second guess them. They are very attentive throughout this trial and I was very impressed with the hard work they put into this case. They deliberated for almost two days. They gave a lot of thought to what they do.
We’re very happy and we’re very satisfied with the outcome of this case.”
According to Nutting: “I’m very proud of my client. I discouraged her from taking this to trial. But she kept on saying she ‘needed to do the right thing’ throughout, and essentially made me try this case over my objection. But she wanted to make sure truth and justice prevail, and I think that’s what had happened here, and she deserves a lot.”
Nutting’s co-counsel in this case was Sheila N. Trianni.
