Ellen Pao, a former junior partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), can pursue punitive damages in her gender discrimination and retaliation case against her former employer, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harold Kahn ruled on Saturday.

The judge denied a motion by the venture capital firm's attorney to rule out punitive damages.

In his ruling he wrote that a reasonable juror could conclude from the sufficient evidence that Kleiner Perkins engaged in intentional gender discrimination and "attempted to hide its illegal conduct by offering knowingly false and pretextual explanations for its decisions not to promote Ms Pao and to terminate her employment."

The judge also said there is sufficient evidence that the jury could conclude KPCB retaliated against Pao.

The jury will be asked to decide on the punitive damages next week, which could amount to more than $1 million.

In addition to the punitive damages, Pao is seeking $16 million in lost wages, based on the calculation of her $560,000 annual salary and more than $1 million annual salary if she had been promoted.

Ellen Pao, a Chinese American who can speak Chinese fluently, joined Silicon Valley-based KPCB in 2005 and left in October 2012.

KPCB's attorney said Pao was not promoted for documented reasons, nor was she treated unkindly on her departure from the firm. She had received the firm's warning a year prior to her departure and the firm also paid Pao $200,000 in severance, the attorney said.

The trial has finished its fourth week of testimony by witnesses and is going to closing arguments and jury deliberations next week.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com