Glendale Seeks New Trial in Sexual Harassment Case

Two months after three female police officers won a $3.5-million verdict, the city of Glendale is asking the court for a new trial on the sexual harassment allegations.

Los Angeles County jurors in June found the city liable for maintaining a hostile work environment at the Glendale Police Department.

The lawsuit contended that sexually explicit videos were shown at roll call, that superiors made unwanted advances and that the women were subjected to retaliation after they refused the alleged advances.

The request for a new trial is based, in part, on claims of juror misconduct. One claim contends that decisions reached in the jury room were based on a simple majority of votes, not the 9-3 vote required in civil cases. Another accuses a juror of visiting the flower shop where the officers allegedly gathered.

Plaintiffs’ lawyer Bradley Gage said a new-trial motion is not unusual in big-money cases. “The losing party wants to try to get a better result,” he said. “The allegations are always the same -- misconduct by the jurors, by opposing counsel or the court. In this case, they have all three.”

Irma Rodriguez Moisa, who represented the city, was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

After three weeks of deliberation, the jury of nine men and three women awarded Jamie Franke, 36, and Renae Kerner, 40, each $1.3 million and Kathryn Frieders, 31, $850,000.

L.A. County Superior Court Judge David A. Workman set a hearing for later this month.