Bennett, et al. v. Riceland Foods, Inc., No. 12-1748 (8th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs filed suit against their former employer alleging retaliatory termination after plaintiffs filed grievances against their supervisor. A jury found that the employer did retaliate against plaintiffs and awarded backpay and damages for emotional distress to each plaintiff. Both parties appealed. The court concluded that the evidence of discriminatory animus was sufficient to submit plaintiffs' retaliation claims to the jury; the employer's proffered non-discriminatory explanation for the terminations failed to address the discriminatory motivation; and the employer's argument that the discriminatory motivation was cured was unavailing. Accordingly, the district court properly denied the employer's motion for judgment as a matter of law on the retaliation claims. The court agreed with the district court's decision to instruct the jury that it could award damages for emotional distress; the district court did not clearly abuse its discretion in denying the employer's motion for new trial or remittitur; and the court affirmed the district court's decision to refuse an instruction on punitive damages. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Civil case - Employment discrimination. Evidence was sufficient to support jury's verdict in favor of plaintiffs on their Title VII retaliation claims; the evidence on compensatory damages for emotional distress was sufficient to submit the matter to the jury and the jury's award is affirmed; the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion for a new trial or remittitur; turning to the plaintiffs' cross-appeal, the district court did not err in refusing to give an instruction on punitive damages under Title VII.
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