Google Search by Juror Could Jeopardize $7.5M Award

A former St. Louis police officer’s $7.5 million damage award in a sexual harassment case could be in jeopardy due to a juror’s unauthorized Google search.

Tanisha Ross-Paige won $300,000 in compensatory damages and $7.2 million in punitive damages from the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners in March after a jury found that she was a victim of both sexual harassment and retaliation.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which represents the police board, is appealing the verdict and seeking a new trial based on what state prosecutors call juror misconduct.

A juror has acknowledged using his cellphone during deliberations to research the term “punitive damages.”

Ross-Paige filed suit in 2011, claiming her sergeant made repeated sexual overtures to his married subordinate.