FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 2026
Following the second of two back-to-back trials litigated by Radford Scott LLP to start January 2026, the firm achieved a verdict in excess of $5.5 million for Plaintiff Makita Bryant. The jury trial, which took place over three days and in two phases, was held in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia before the Honorable Magistrate Judge Anna W. Howard. To the firm’s knowledge, this is the highest verdict ever given for a single-plaintiff employment case in the Northern District of Georgia.
The week immediately prior, the firm attained a verdict for five former DeKalb County jailers who brought claims under Title VII alleging a sexually hostile working environment in the DeKalb County Jail, resulting in a total verdict of $250,000.
The jury of eight found for Ms. Bryant, who worked as a security guard for Defendant C&M Defense Group. The civil complaint was originally filed on December 13, 2023. Ms. Bryant alleged that she was sexually harassed and assaulted by the Vice President of Operations, who she believed at the time owned the company. Ms. Bryant audio-recorded one of the incidents on a small, old-fashioned tape recorder. The plaintiff alleged that, for months, she endured ongoing sexual harassment, fearing for her job and thinking no one would believe her. The plaintiff alleged that, on March 31, 2023, she was told that the perpetrator had been fired, in part for harassing female employees, and met the CEO and owner of the company. Ms. Bryant told the CEO and owner about the sexual assault and gave him the tape recorder along with the tape, which had on one side the last audio of her deceased aunt’s voice, and on the other, the recording of the worst physical assault by the Vice President of Operations. The plaintiff alleged that Ms. Bryant was then fired four days later and never saw the tape recorder again. According to the plaintiff, the CEO and owner, along with his fiancé, who was in a Human Resources role, ignored and/or blocked Ms. Bryant’s subsequent texts and emails, in which she begged for her job and tape recorder back.
Ms. Bryant brought claims to trial against her former employer for (1) negligent retention and supervision; (2) Title VII hostile work environment; (3) Title VII discriminatory and retaliatory termination; (4) intentional infliction of emotional distress; and (5) conversion (of the tape recorder). The last two claims were also filed against the owner and CEO personally. Prior to trial, Defendants stipulated to liability on all claims and necessary prerequisites. However, Defendants’ stipulation did not include a stipulation that punitive damages were warranted under Title VII, so Plaintiff had to meet that higher burden at trial.
The trial was separated into two phases: Phase I, the amount of compensatory damages and whether Title VII punitive damages were warranted; and Phase II, the amount of punitive damages.
After four hours of deliberation in Phase I, the jury came back with a verdict of just under $1.6 million. The jury answered “yes” on whether punitive damages should be assessed for the Title VII claims. Following deliberations in Phase II, the jury came back with an award of $3.96 million in punitive damages. The total verdict was over $5.5 million.
Prior to trial, Defendants stipulated that they were liable for overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act and agreed to overtime and liquidated damages.
Ms. Bryant is represented by attorneys Justin M. Scott, Grace A. Starling, Tierra M. Monteiro, and Dana Ford of Radford Scott LLP. The team is supported by paralegal Jenna Holton.
The case is Bryant v. C&M Defense Group LLC et al., case number 1:23-cv-05848, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Questions, please contact Grace Starling, gstarling@radfordscott.com, 404-400-3600.
