Williams v. United Dairy Farmers

188 F.R.D. 266, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14520, 80 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1645, 1999 WL 754027
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedSeptember 20, 1999
DocketNos. C2:96 CV 00802, C2:96 CV 01060
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 188 F.R.D. 266 (Williams v. United Dairy Farmers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. United Dairy Farmers, 188 F.R.D. 266, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14520, 80 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1645, 1999 WL 754027 (S.D. Ohio 1999).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

MARBLEY, Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs Michael Williams and Maudie Williams’ (collectively “Plaintiffs”) Motion For New Trial pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(a) and Motion For Relief From Judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(2). This case was tried to a jury from September 21, 1998, to October 1, 1998. On October 5, 1998, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Defendant United Dairy Farmers, Inc. (“UDF”). Plaintiffs timely filed the instant motions seeking a new trial. Disposition of the motions before the Court turn on whether relevant newly discovered evidence — evidence that Patricia Munyan conspired with Warren Freeman to fabricate testimony for profit — which was not available to the parties or the Court prior to the end of trial, might have, if discovered earlier, changed the jury’s verdict. Based on this newly discovered evidence, the Court is reasonably satisfied that the testimony given by Ms. Munyan, a material witness at trial, was false and might have improperly influenced the outcome of this case. Therefore, for the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs’ Motion for Relief from Judgment is DENIED, and Plaintiffs’ Motion for New Trial is GRANTED.

II. FACTS

Plaintiffs Maudie and Michael Williams, mother and son, respectively, were employed by Defendant United Dairy Farmers, Inc. (“UDF”) at its store located on 1531 Frebis Avenue, Columbus, Ohio (“Store 611”). Maudie began working at Store 611 on March 15, 1994, while Michael began on May 25, 1994. Plaintiffs were both discharged in 1995 for violating UDF’s cash handling policy. On August 13, 1996, Plaintiffs brought this race discrimination action asserting claims under Title VII and 42 U.S.C. § 1981, arising out of their employment at UDF and their subsequent termination. In their Complaint, Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants Glenn Broersma and Bill Bales, District Supervisors for UDF, created a working environment that was hostile to African-American employees.

On September 4, 1996, in deposition testimony before the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, Munyan testified that Glen Broersma and Bill Bales frequently made racially derogatory statements in reference to African-American employees and customers. For example, Munyan testified that Broersma instructed UDF manager Debbie Ferguson: “Don’t hire any more fucking niggers.” In addition, Munyan testified that Broersma instructed Ferguson to “ride [Maudie Williams] and write her up for anything that she could to get her out of there.” Munyan also testified that Bales told her that he did not want any more niggers hired and that he called Maudie Williams a “black bitch.” Moreover, Munyan, in deposition testimony before this Court stated that Bales would often watch the video surveillance cameras at UDF when African-American employees and customers were in the store because he believed that “all Black people steal.”

Prior to trial, in June 1998, the Williams’ attorney, Reginald Cooke received a telephone call from Gene Walker, who was incarcerated at the Franklin County jail on a probation violation. Walker and his girlfriend, Sharon Tigner, had previously lived with Patricia Munyan and Warren Freeman Jr. at Freeman’s parents home in 1998. During this telephone conversation, Walker informed Cooke that he had knowledge of information relating to the UDF case and that he would provide Cooke with the information if Cooke would serve as his attorney and secure his release from jail. Cooke did not pursue Walker’s information at that time because he believed the call was one of many prank calls from individuals with no valid information concerning the case or from an individual seeking to be paid for purportedly helpful information.

As trial approached, Plaintiffs filed numerous motions in limine, one seeking to exclude all references to a videotape (“the [270]*270Munyan Videotape”), in which Munyan, apparently being taped by a hidden camera, appears to recant her prior deposition testimony given to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. The Munyan Videotape was recorded by Warren Freeman Jr., Munyaris boyfriend, in March of 1998, while the two of them were lying in bed. In the videotape, Munyan divulged that her deposition testimony in this case as. well as her testimony to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, which supported Plaintiffs’ race discrimination claims, were fabricated in an effort to obtain a portion of any monetary award that the Plaintiffs might receive as a result of their litigation. Specifically, Munyan stated that she had lied in her previous deposition testimony and that the Plaintiffs’ discrimination case was merely a scam to obtain money— money that the Plaintiffs would split with Munyan. At one point in the videotape Munyan artfully stated: “They was saying that a supervisor — some supervisors at work where I work on Frebis were discriminating. And they [the supervisors] weren’t really, you know ... So really I guess I got to go, but just get up there and lie like I’ve been lying ... I thought I was doing the right thing and I thought a little lie wouldn’t hurt. I didn’t know it was going to be all this.”

In short, on the Munyan Videotape, Munyan maintained that she participated in the scam because she wanted money and because she was angry with Bales and UDF for denying her request for a leave of absence and she wanted “to get even with that son-of-a-bitch [Bales].” Freeman then negotiated with and sold the Munyan Videotape to UDF. Freeman received $10,000, in two payments, from UDF for the Munyan Videotape. On April 6, 1998 he received $7,500 and the $2,500 balance after the conclusion of trial. The Defendants insist that the $10,000 payment by UDF was for the videotape and not to buy evidence.

Plaintiffs’ Motion In Limine was based on three evidentiary concerns: opportunity to explain (Fed.R.Evid. 613), authentication (Fed.R.Evid. 901) and prejudice (Fed.R.Evid. 403). The motion was granted in part, and denied in part. This Court’s Order noted, “Munyan’s statements on the tape are probative of central issues in this case: whether UDF engaged in discriminatory employment practices, and whether racial animus motivat.ed the alleged actions of Defendants Bales and Broersma.” Williams v. United Dairy Farmers, et al., No. 96-802 (S.D.Ohio Sept. 21, 1998) (order granting in part and denying in part Plaintiffs’ Motion in Limine to Exclude Defendants’ Exhibits 50.1 and 50.2). The Court, therefore, permitted Defendants to offer the Munyan Videotape into evidence, with the exception of statements made therein relating to attorney Reginald Cooke.

This case was tried to a jury on September 21, 1998, through October 1, 1998. During the trial, Defendants tendered evidence to the jury relating to the Munyan Videotape to show that Patricia Munyan, and in fact the entire case, was not credible and merely a ploy to make money. Although the videotape appeared engineered and contrived, its impact was substantial.

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Bluebook (online)
188 F.R.D. 266, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14520, 80 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1645, 1999 WL 754027, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-united-dairy-farmers-ohsd-1999.