Lister v. City of Las Vegas, 148 F.4^th 690 (9^th Cir. 2025)

Latonia Lister sued the City of Las Vegas for sex- and/or race-based employment discrimination under Title VII. Lister was the city’s first African American female firefighter who had worked for the city in that capacity for almost 30 years. Lister alleged that while she was on duty and under the supervision of Captain Michael Brenneman (a white male), she walked into the room at dinnertime and observed Brenneman, who was feeding a dog pieces of steak, say, “Here, girl. Here, Latonia,” while smacking his lips to make kissing noises. After deliberating for nearly two hours, the jury concluded that the incident was “severe or pervasive” and “objectively and subjectively offensive to a reasonable person,” but that it was not retaliatory and was not motivated by gender-based and/or race-based discrimination; nevertheless, the jury awarded Lister $150,000 for pain and suffering damages. Because the jury found no liability on the part of the city, the district court set aside the damages award and entered judgment for the city. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the judgment.