Robert v. Stanford University

Filed 2/25/14

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

FRANCIS ROBERT, H037514 (Santa Clara County Plaintiff and Appellant, Super. Ct. No. CV162789)

v.

STANFORD UNIVERSITY,

Defendant and Respondent.

Plaintiff Francis Robert appeals from the trial court’s order requiring him to pay $100,000 in attorney’s fees to defendant Stanford University (Stanford) after Stanford prevailed in Robert’s action under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) (Gov. Code, § 12900 et seq.). He claims that the court failed to make the requisite written findings, failed to consider his financial condition, and abused its discretion in finding that his FEHA cause of action was “without merit[,] frivolous and vexatious.” We affirm.

I. Background 1 Robert is an American Indian. He was employed by Stanford from 1997 to 2008. Stanford terminated his employment in 2008 due to his harassment of a female Stanford

1 Robert indicated at oral argument that he prefers to be referred to as American Indian rather than Native American.

employee. He had been given several warnings prior to his termination, but he had continued to harass her. His harassment of her led to a restraining order against him, which was upheld on appeal by this court in 2009. Robert initiated this action in 2010. His FEHA cause of action against Stanford alleged that his termination was based on his race. He maintained that Stanford’s reliance on his harassment was merely a pretext for racial discrimination. During discovery, Robert never identified any evidence other than his own testimony that might support his FEHA cause of action. At trial, Robert testified that he believed that those responsible for investigating the harassment and terminating him had discriminated against him based on his “native ancestry.” He provided no other evidence in support of his discrimination claim. At the close of evidence, Stanford moved for nonsuit on all causes of action. Robert conceded that he had no evidence to support his discrimination cause of action. He asserted that this was because the court had excluded evidence, but the court noted that all of the excluded evidence was irrelevant to his discrimination claim. The trial court granted Stanford’s motion for nonsuit on the FEHA cause of action. It found that there was “some evidence” supporting Robert’s retaliation claim and his breach of contract/breach of the implied covenant claim and allowed them to go to the jury. The jury returned a defense verdict. Stanford incurred over $235,000 in attorney’s fees defending against Robert’s action, and it filed a motion seeking to recover its attorney’s fees in the FEHA action. Robert opposed the motion on the ground that he was “destitute” and that his FEHA cause of action had not been frivolous, groundless, unreasonable, or vexatious. Robert submitted a declaration in support of his opposition in which he claimed that he was unemployed, had no income and no future employment prospects, had spent all of his savings, and had borrowed the maximum amount that he could borrow from his retirement.