Ex-Liberty Mutual agent gets $1.3m in disability bias suit

A federal jury has awarded $1.3 million to a veteran insurance agent with bipolar disorder who alleged he was fired as a result of his disability.

The 11-member jury awarded Kevin W. Tobin, 60, of Marshfield, $500,000 in emotional distress damages, $439,315 in lost wages, and $416,664 in lost pension and retirement benefits caused by his termination by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. in January 2001.

The panel returned the verdict last night against Liberty Mutual after deliberating for two weeks, according to Tobin's lawyer, Frank J. Frisoli of Cambridge.

Tobin, reached by telephone yesterday, said he was heartened by the verdict, but it could not undo the emotional trauma he experienced following his termination after 37 years with the firm.

''I was devastated," said Tobin. ''They called me in at 10:30 a.m. and dismissed me in front of my coworkers. I walked to my cubicle, got my personal paraphernalia, and I had to be out of the office. They could have done it at 5 p.m. when no one else was around."

In court papers, the company argued that from 1992 to 2001, Frisoli failed to meet minimum standards and was placed on probation several times. The company also claimed that he rarely ''prospected" for new business. Spokesman Glenn Greenberg said yesterday the company was ''extremely disappointed" by the verdict. ''We intend to pursue all available remedies," he said. Greenberg declined to discuss the details of the case.

David L. Yas, editor-in-chief of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, said the award was one of the largest discrimination awards in recent years. In 2001, a Suffolk Superior Court jury awarded $7.6 million in damages to a former executive of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority; it was reduced to $2 million after a settlement. A year later, a female executive at a staffing firm was awarded $2.17 million after a jury found that her employer had retaliated against her for complaining of sexual harassment.

''This is a pretty rare award," Yas said of the jury's decision in the Tobin case. ''You don't see this every day, not when it comes to disability discrimination."

Frisoli argued during the trial that the insurance company did not adequately accommodate Tobin's disability as required by the Americans with Disability Act and state disability laws. During the trial, Frisoli said, Liberty Mutual argued that Tobin did not have a disability even though it had approved two prior disability leaves and created a reentry program to help the insurance agent improve his job performance.

The company said that, when Tobin returned to work after his two medical leaves, his doctor had indicated that he was returning without any major limitations or restrictions.

Frisoli maintained yesterday that his client would have been able to perform the essential functions of his job if he had received the same amount of help as others in his office, including a top performer who was given three assistants. By contrast, Frisoli said, his client received sporadic assistance from a service representative who supervised other representatives and was not always available.

''He had difficulty going from task to task," said Frisoli. ''But he was willing to work long hours and he did it regularly to make up the work."

Diane E. Lewis can be reached at dlewis@globe.com.