Avila v. LAPD, No. 12-55931 (9th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff, a police officer, filed suit against the City and the LAPD alleging that he was fired in retaliation for testifying, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3). Plaintiff claimed that the real reason he was fired was not because he worked through lunch without requesting overtime, but rather because he testified in a lawsuit brought by a fellow officer. On appeal, the City and the LAPD contend that the jury was not correctly instructed. The court concluded that the Board of Rights recommendation that plaintiff's employment be terminated did not preclude his FLSA retaliation claim. On the merits, the court concluded that the district court did not commit reversible error in declining to give the jury two requested special instructions and to submit several proposed special verdict questions tied to those instructions. The district court did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorney's fees and liquidated damages. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court.
Court Description: Labor Law. The panel affirmed the district court’s judgment, after a jury trial, in favor of a police officer who claimed that the Los Angeles Police Department fired him in retaliation for testifying in a Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit brought by a fellow officer. The panel held that the officer’s FLSA retaliation claim was not precluded by the LAPD Board of Rights’ recommendation that he be terminated for insubordination in not claiming overtime. The officer alleged that the real reason he was fired was not because he worked through lunch without requesting overtime, but rather because he testified in the prior lawsuit. The panel held that the district court did not err in declining to give two special jury instructions, and special verdict questions tied to those instructions, stating that an employee who engages in protected activity is not insulated from adverse action for violating workplace rules. The panel held that to the extent that the City of Los Angeles was urging that it would have reached the same decision on terminating the officer in the absence of his testimony in the prior lawsuit, the district court was well within its discretion in refusing to give the instructions because the evidence did not support the same decision defense, nor did it support the City’s argument that the firing was based on the content of the officer’s testimony, and not on the mere fact that he had testified. Because the City did not raise the issues in its briefs, the panel declined to address whether the district court erred in refusing to give a “same decision” instruction and an instruction that the officer was required to prove that his testimony was a “motivating factor” in his termination. The panel held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorney’s fees and liquidated damages. Dissenting, Judge Vinson wrote that the officer not only testified in the prior case, but also admitted to insubordination when he testified. Judge Vinson wrote that the district court plainly erred in failing to give the “same decision” instruction. He wrote that this issue was not waived because it was inextricably interrelated with the issue whether the district court erred in failing to give the special instructions. He also wrote that there was ample evidence to support the same decision defense. Judge Vinson wrote that reversible error occurred, and the case should be remanded for a new trial.
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