Price v. Runyon

951 F. Supp. 52, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19732, 1996 WL 760876
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedDecember 19, 1996
DocketCivil No. 94-5120 (CSF)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 951 F. Supp. 52 (Price v. Runyon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Price v. Runyon, 951 F. Supp. 52, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19732, 1996 WL 760876 (D.N.J. 1996).

Opinion

AMENDED OPINION

CLARKSON S. FISHER, District Judge.

This matter comes before the court on a motion by plaintiff, F. Carol Price, for judgment as a matter of law or, alternatively, for a new trial pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 50 and 59. This matter was tried to a jury during May, 1996. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendants and against the plaintiff for no cause for action.

Plaintiffs complaint alleged a cause of action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16, Title VII, of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended. Plaintiff claims that she is currently entitled to the relief which she seeks because of errors made in charging the jury on the applicable law, because certain findings by the jury were against the weight of the evidence, and as the verdict sheet submitted to the jury did not contain all the applicable causes of action alleged by plain[54]*54tiff. Plaintiff has presented a six-point argument to this court. For the reasons set forth below, plaintiffs motion will be denied.

I. MOTION FOR A NEW TRIAL

New trials are infrequently given and generally disfavored. Ford Motor Co. v. Summit Motor Prods., Inc., 930 F.2d 277, 301 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 939, 112 S.Ct. 373, 116 L.Ed.2d 324 (1991). A new trial may be ordered when a verdict is against the clear weight of the evidence, Roebuck v. Drexel Univ., 852 F.2d 715, 735-37 (3d Cir.1988), or when there is a substantial error in the instructions to the jury. Savarese v. Agriss, 883 F.2d 1194, 1202-05 (3d Cir.1989). A new trial should not be ordered simply because the court might have reached a different conclusion. Fineman v. Armstrong World Indus., Inc., 774 F.Supp. 266, 269 (D.N.J.1991), aff’d in part and rev’d in part on other grounds, 980 F.2d 171 (3d Cir.1992), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 921, 113 S.Ct. 1285, 122 L.Ed.2d 677 (1993).

A. Form of the Verdict Sheet

Plaintiff objects to the fact that the verdict sheet did not contain any provisions concerning her claim of wrongful discharge in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. The plaintiff alleges that separate claims for sexual harassment, employment retaliation and wrongful discharge had been set forth in her complaint. It is the plaintiffs contention that these are separate theories of liability and that failure to mention the claim of wrongful discharge on the verdict sheet was in error and a new trial is now required.

Although a new trial may be ordered when there is a substantial error in the instructions to the jury, Savarese, 883 F.2d at 1202-05 (3d Cir.1989), plaintiff has failed to present such an error. It is clear that the wrongful discharge claim was subsumed under and incorporated within the other Title VII claims asserted by the plaintiff. Count Five of plaintiffs complaint clearly states:

Such acts of sexual harassment and retaliatory conduct, by defendants ... as described above resulted in the wrongful discharge of plaintiff from her employment on or about January 5,1994 in violation of the plaintiff’s rights under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended.

Complaint ¶ 56 (emphasis added). The verdict sheet required the jury to determine both whether the plaintiff was sexually harassed and whether she was retaliated against for participating in the EEO process. The jury answered “no” to both of these claims, thereby eliminating the possibility that either “resulted in” the wrongful discharge of plaintiff from her employment.

B. Charge on Employment Retaliation

Plaintiff argues that this court committed error in charging the jury on plaintiffs Title VII retaliation claim. First, plaintiff contends that the following charge to the jury was made in error:

If you find that the defendants have articulated a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the adverse action, then you must decide whether the plaintiff has proven by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendants’ proffered reason is not the true reason and that her protected activity was the real reason. Once the defendants come forward with a non-discriminatory reason, the plaintiff must show: (1) that the defendants’ proffered explanation is false, and (2) that the real reason was retaliation for her having engaged in protected activity. It is not enough to disbelieve the defendant; you must believe plaintiff’s explanation of intentional retaliation.

Plaintiff’s brief at 8 (emphasis in original). There was no error made on this charge as it reflects the holding in St. Mary’s Honor Center v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993).

In Hicks, the United States Supreme Court held in dicta that:

A reason cannot be proved to be ‘a pretext for discrimination’ unless it is shown both that the reason was false, and that discrimination was the real reason.

St. Mary’s at 515, 113 S.Ct. at 2752. The Court goes on to explain:

At trial, the plaintiff must convince the fact finder both that the reason was false, and [55]*55that diserimination was the real reason, it is not enough to disbelieve the employer; the fact finder must believe the plaintiff’s explanation of intentional discrimination.

Id. at 519, 113 S.Ct. at 2754 (emphasis in original).

Secondly, the plaintiff asserts under this point in her brief that the jury was not charged concerning retaliation as a separate and distinct form of an impermissible employment practice in accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. The instruction to the jury was that:

the law prohibits retaliation against an employee who opposes unlawful discrimination by her employer, including filing a complaint of discrimination.

Plaintiffs brief at 10. It is the plaintiffs contention that this instruction required a showing that she filed a “viable” or “substantiated” EEO complaint. The plain meaning of the instruction indicates that no such requirement was ever placed before the jury.

Lastly, the plaintiff argues that since the jury had already determined that she had not been sexually harassed, it could not conceivably find retaliation. This argument is frivolous, as the two claims were separately listed on the verdict sheet.

C. Adverse Employment Action

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
951 F. Supp. 52, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19732, 1996 WL 760876, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/price-v-runyon-njd-1996.