$2.2 Million Verdict in 'Devious Defecator' Case

The jury of the US district court of Atlanta awarded $2.2 million to two employees, Jack Lowe and Dennis Reynolds, because they had their DNA illegally attained during an investigation by their employer. The company, Atlas Logistics Group Retail Service was trying to find out who was leaving feces around the company warehouse, so they got check swabs from their employees. The test came back negative and Lowe and Reynolds sued the following year.

The two employees were humiliated by the process, and were afraid about how their DNA would be used in the future.

The jury decided that the company ignored the 2008 Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). GINA was passed so people wouldn't be afraid of getting DNA tests for medical or research purposes. One of the statutes says that employers cannot request, require, purchase genetic information from an employee. The employees were given a total of $475,000 for compensatory damages including mental pain and suffering and $1.75 million for punitive damages.

The company's attorney, Dion Kohler, said the company acted on incorrect advice that voluntary DNA tests of employees were legal under federal law.

Reynolds is still working at Atlas, and Lowe is not anymore. This case sets a precedent for all future cases regarding the use of DNA by employers. The company is considering appealing the verdict.


Comments from Allen:
Captain Obvious tells me this is a very large award. As to compensatory damages for two people, $237,500 apiece is an extremely large award for this type of case. I have seen good attorneys get $5,000 for mental distress for their clients under circumstances no less extreme. Kudos to this attorney for having the ability to translate mental distress over DNA into significant award for the two clients. 

The lesson here: when choosing an attorney for a case which may involve a significant loss, choosing an experienced trial lawyer is imperative.

As to punitive damages, those are only allowable in extreme cases involving intentional or reckless misconduct. The jury found the requisite intentional misconduct here. The amount of punitive damages would, in Idaho, be required to have some bearing upon the award of compensatory damages. Idaho Supreme Court cases have used a "guideline" range of 3-10 times compensatory damages as an allowable maximum amount. In this case, that would be $712,500 to $2,375,000, so the punitive damage award in this case was in line with what Idaho Courts could approve.

I was asked: If the police required DNA samples to solve the crime in this case, could they have obtained a search warrant? The answer is probably "no." In order to obtain a search warrant to obtain someone's DNA, the prosecuting attorney would have to demonstrate to a judge that there was probable cause to believe that specific person committed that crime. In this case, there were no facts which pointed to any specific person. Therefore, the judge would have to deny the police the ability to obtain DNA samples from any of the employees of Atlas Logistics Group Retail Service.

The placing of feces in a workplace is a crime (trespass, malicious mischief), so the employer here could have reported the case to the police. However, the police in a case like this will rely upon evidence provided by the employer; they are not going to expend much in resources to solve a crime like this.

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Allen Browning is an attorney in Idaho Falls, Idaho who handles personal injury and criminal defense. He has over 30 years of experience and handled thousands of cases. Allen work with cases from all over Idaho. Call (208) 542-2700 to set up a free consultation if you are facing legal trouble or you have been involved in an accident.

Also, check out browninglaw.net for more information about Allen and Browning Law.

Allen Browning can help with all personal injury claims including motor vehicle accidents, serious and disabling accidents, and wrongful death claims. Allen Browning is an attorney who can also help with drunk driving (DUI) , Felony, Misdemeanor, Domestic Violence, Drug Crimes, Theft, Juvenile Crimes, Violent Crimes, and Probation/Parole Violations. He is one of the most experienced and successful criminal defense attorneys in Idaho.


Attorney Allen Browning can help with all personal injury claims including motor vehicle accidents, serious and disabling accidents, and wrongful death claims.


Sources for more information:

 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/jury_awards_2.25m_to_2_workers_who_sued_over_dna_tests_to_id_devious_defeca

 http://www.businessinsider.com/r-georgia-workers-win-22-million-in-devious-defecator-case-2015-6

 http://www.buzzfeed.com/virginiahughes/landmark-genetic-discrimination-case

http://justiceatwork.com/order-for-113-cv-2425-at/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/06/23/jurors-award-2-25m-in-devious-defecator-case/

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