Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS — A Missouri appellate court has affirmed a multimillion-dollar attorney fee award in favor of a former employee who prevailed on disability discrimination and retaliation claims, while dismissing the remainder of the employer’s appeal due to an untimely filing.
In its March 17 ruling, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District dismissed five of six points raised by UniFirst Corporation and supervisor Michael D. Seever II, finding that the notice of appeal was not filed within the required timeframe.
The court, however, determined the appeal was timely as it related to attorney fees and ultimately upheld the trial court’s award of more than $2 million to plaintiff Scott Caldwell.
The case stems from Caldwell’s employment with UniFirst, where he worked as a district service manager and sustained a back injury that limited his ability to perform job duties, including lifting to 80 pounds.
The company initially provided accommodations but stopped doing so after Caldwell filed for workers’ compensation and delayed surgery in March 2015. That same day, the company placed him on Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave against his wishes.
Caldwell continued seeking treatment and attempted to return to work with accommodations, disputing whether heavy lifting was an essential function of his position.
After exhausting both FMLA and additional discretionary leave, he was terminated in July 2015.
He filed suit in 2017, alleging disability discrimination and retaliation under the Missouri Human Rights Act, as well as retaliation under the state’s workers’ compensation law.
A jury found in his favor, awarding $150,000 in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages on each MHRA claim against UniFirst, along with smaller damages against Seever.
Following the trial, the court initially granted judgment notwithstanding the verdict in favor of the defendants, but that decision was partially reversed on appeal in 2024.
The appellate court reinstated the jury’s verdict on the discrimination and retaliation claims and remanded the case for entry of judgment and determination of attorney fees.
On remand, the trial court entered judgment totaling $4.3 million against UniFirst and awarded Caldwell $2,016,115 in attorney fees.
The defendants filed multiple post-trial motions, all of which were denied. They later filed a notice of appeal on June 2, 2025.
The appellate court found that most of the defendants’ claims could not be reviewed because the notice of appeal was filed too late.
However, the court addressed the attorney fee award, which it determined was subject to a separate timeline and had been appealed on time.
The defendants argued the fee award was excessive, unsupported, and improperly calculated, but the appellate court disagreed.
The appellate panel also rejected arguments that the fee should be reduced due to billing practices or because Caldwell prevailed on only two of three claims, finding the claims were related and resulted in substantial success overall.
The court concluded by affirming the judgment on attorney fees, dismissing the remaining claims, and entering judgment for the additional appellate fees.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District case number: ED113618
