Costco Wholesale store.

Costco Wholesale Corp. won in federal court, beating back a lawsuit by a sympathetic plaintiff.

And it did so by building a case centered on showing it had taken several steps to comply with federal law, and to accommodate a deaf employee.

But it was long road, which led to a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruling in Costco's favor.

Plaintiffs counsel Beverly A. Pohl of Nelson Mullins in Fort Lauderdale represented former Costco employee, Christine D'Onofrio, who said she had loved her job and performed well for years until conditions soured under a new manager. She argued the company had not accommodated her client's deafness under the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992.

A jury sided with the plaintiff, awarding D'Onofrio $750,000 in damages for emotional pain and mental anguish, and $25,000 in punitive damages.

But Costco responded with a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law. The court conditionally granted its motion for a new trial, agreeing with Costco that no reasonable jury could have found the company had failed to provide reasonable accommodation to D'Onofrio.

A federal appellate panel also sided with the company.

"We agree with the district court that there was insufficient evidence to support the failure-to-accommodate claim," the Eleventh Circuit ruled. "Therefore, we affirm the district court's grant of judgment as a matter of law to Costco, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b). In light of this holding, we need not address D'Onofrio's second appeal related to the court's conditional grant of Costco's new-trial motion."

Judge Charles R. Wilson disagreed.

"I would reverse the judgment as a matter of law, as the jury was well within its prerogative to accept D'Onofrio's evidence over Costco's and make credibility determinations," the judge wrote in his dissent.

Action taken

D'Onofrio's complaint alleged she began having problems at the Pompano Beach Costco warehouse. It stated that Alan Pack, D'Onofrio's manager, mumbled when he spoke, which made lip reading impossible for D'Onofrio. The suit also claimed Pack refused to communicate in writing and that he ridiculed the employee for communicating with her hands.

D'Onofrio then took the concerns to Pack's superiors, using the "open-door policy," where she informed them that his treatment caused her "great mental, physical, and emotional stress," according to court documents. In response, Costco CEO Craig Jelinek and Vice President Steve Powers reached out to schedule a meeting with D'Onofrio, so she could voice her complaints.

In a meeting with Powers and a member of the human resource team, D'Onofrio requested that Pack be transferred to a different Costco warehouse and all managers be trained on deaf culture. However, the opinion noted that D'Onofrio did not ask for accommodations to help her communicate with Pack.

Immediately after the meeting, Costco implemented several measures, including video remote interpreting equipment, and providing remote online sign language interpreters, who could facilitate communication between a deaf individual and a hearing individual by way of a video phone call. Costco installed the equipment at two locations in the warehouse, and ensured D'Onofrio received training for the new equipment.

At trial, Costco introduced witnesses, such as Dr. Shana Williams, the director of the Center for Hearing and Communication, who testified about the effectiveness of the new equipment to facilitate communication between D'Onofrio and her managers during group sessions.

Read the Eleventh Circuit opinion:

Costco also followed up on D'Onofrio's request for deaf-culture training by arranging instruction from the Center for Hearing and Communication in Fort Lauderdale. The managers in D'Onofrio's immediate chain of command attended the session. Williams made several suggestions to assist D'Onofrio in large group meetings.

Soon after, Costco transferred a new direct supervisor that had a close relative who was deaf and was familiar with the new equipment. The opinion stated their relationship soon deteriorated as the new supervisor repeatedly accused D'Onofrio of being "loud, angry and insubordinate."

D'Onofrio was coached and counseled on a number of occasions for inappropriate and insubordinate behavior, and she frequently refused to use the new equipment. Soon afterward, D'Onofrio was suspended and later fired for excessive policy violations.

A jury at a lower court ruled in D'Onofrio favor for Costco's failure to accommodate claim under the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, awarding D'Onofrio $750,000 for emotional pain and mental anguish, and $25,000 in punitive damages, the court ultimately ruled for Costco as a matter of law, causing the award to be set aside. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed that ruling.

John T. Murray, a partner for Seyfarth in Atlanta who represented Costco, did not respond to request for comment.