Aaron Jensen

Aaron's is a long sad story, starting well before the litigation. He was so devastated by all the losses surrounding what West Jordan did to him - he lost his home, his marriage, his career, his friends - that he became deeply depressed and suicidal. At trial in 2017, Aaron, his dad, and his therapist all testified about his extreme depression, which I believe is why the verdict for emotional distress was so high (roughly $1.7 of the $2.7 million verdict). We really believed the judge's reduction of the verdict to $335,000 (based on Title VII caps) would be reversed by the Tenth Circuit, so we spent three years on the appeal. I can't tell you how many times during that period I talked Aaron off a ledge, usually by giving him hope that holding out for the appeal to run its course would be worth it. He really wasn't able to work anymore, as he would experience so much anxiety when he would start to be successful at a job that he would sabotage it; his therapist explained to me that it was a normal reaction for someone who had been so good at his job and yet so betrayed by his employer. Meanwhile, Aaron borrowed so much against the $335,000, with very high interest rates, that by the time we got through the appeal, which did not reinstate the verdict, he had only about $30,000 left. He was so damaged by then, that he really needed an amount like what the jury awarded him that would have allowed him to take care of himself for a while and heal, but he obviously did not get that.