Becker v. Arco Chemical Co.

• Decision Date: 20 March 2000
• Docket Number: Nos. 98-1636 and 98-1888,No. 98-1636,No. 98-1888,98-1636,98-1888,s. 98-1636 and 98-1888
• Citation: 207 F.3d 176
• Parties: (3rd Cir. 2000) WILLIAM P. BECKER, v. ARCO CHEMICAL COMPANY, Appellant in WILLIAM P. BECKER , v. ARCO CHEMICAL COMPANY, William P. Becker, Appellant in
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 176

207 F.3d 176 (3rd Cir. 2000)

WILLIAM P. BECKER, v. ARCO CHEMICAL COMPANY, Appellant in No. 98-1636

WILLIAM P. BECKER , v. ARCO CHEMICAL COMPANY, William P. Becker, Appellant in No. 98-1888

Nos. 98-1636 and 98-1888

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS, FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

Argued January 27, 2000

Filed March 20, 2000

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania District Judge: Honorable Eduardo C. Robreno (D.C. Civil No. 95-07191) [Copyrighted Material Omitted] Attorneys for William P. Becker: George P. Wood (argued) Carmen R. Matos (argued) Stewart, Wood, Branca & Matos 411 Cherry Street Norristown, PA 19401

Maureen M. Rayborn Daniel V. Johns (argued) Niza M. Motola Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP 1735 Market Street, 51st Floor Philadelphia PA 19103-7599, Attorneys for ARCO Chemical Company

BEFORE: GREENBERG, ROTH, and STAPLETON, Circuit Judges

OPINION OF THE COURT

GREENBERG, Circuit Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter is before this court on an appeal from an order denying defendant ARCO Chemical Company's ("ARCO") motion for judgment as a matter of law, or in the alternative, for a new trial, or in the alternative, for a remittitur, entered on June 30, 1998, in this employment discrimination case following a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff, William P. Becker ("Becker"). See Becker v. ARCO Chem. Co., 15 F. Supp.2d 600, 621 (E.D. Pa. 1998) ("Becker I"). Becker cross-appeals from the district court's order of July 23, 1998,¹ which granted in part and denied in part his motion to "mold" the verdict to include post-trial Plaintiff sued ARCO under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. SS 621 et seq., and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act ("PHRA"), Pa. Stat. Ann., tit. 43, SS 951 et seq. (West 1991), contending that ARCO discriminated against him on the basis of his age by terminating his employment with the company on March 4, 1994. At the time of his discharge, Becker was 51 years old. After an 11-day trial which resulted in a verdict in Becker's favor, the district court on November 4, 1997, entered a judgment of $736,095.00 for Becker on the verdict.²

While the appeal and cross-appeal raise several allegations of error, we only need address one issue-- whether ARCO is entitled to a new trial under Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(a) based on the district court's admission, over ARCO's repeated objections, of Becker's testimony pertaining to the "manner" in which ARCO allegedly earlier had terminated another employee, Linwood Seaver. For convenience, we refer to Becker's testimony in this regard as "the Seaver evidence." ARCO contends that the admission of this evidence violated Fed. R. Evid. (hereinafter cited in the text as "Rule") 404(b), 403, and 608(b), and that the district court's error in admitting the testimony was not harmless.

For the reasons that follow, we hold that the district court erred by admitting the Seaver evidence pursuant to Rule 404(b). We also conclude that Rule 608(b) clearly does not provide a basis for introducing Becker's testimony on this point. Moreover, based on the record presented, we cannot say that it is highly probable that the district court's admission of this evidence did not affect ARCO's substantial rights. See McQueeney v. Wilmington Trust Co., 779 F.2d 916, 924, 927-28 (3d Cir. 1985). Hence, the district court's erroneous evidentiary ruling requires us to reverse its order of June 30, 1998, insofar as it denied ARCO's motion for a new trial, and remand the matter to the district court with directions to grant a new trial on the age discrimination claims as to all issues. See id. at 931. Because we are remanding the matter for a new trial in its entirety, we will dismiss Becker's cross-appeal as moot, and we will not address ARCO's additional arguments presented in its appeal.³ See J&R Ice Cream Corp. v. California Smoothie Licensing Corp., 31 F.3d 1259, 1266 (3d Cir. 1994).

II. JURISDICTION and STANDARD OF REVIEW

The district court exercised subject matter jurisdiction over Becker's ADEA claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. S 1331, and had supplemental jurisdiction over the PHRA claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. S 1367. We exercise appellate jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C.S 1291.

In Bhaya v. Westinghouse Electric Corp., 922 F.2d 184 (3d Cir. 1990), we explained that when reviewing the district court's decision to grant or deny a motion for a new trial, we must give substantial deference to the trial judge's decision " `who saw and heard the witnesses and has the feel of the case which no appellate printed transcript can impart.' " Id. at 187 (quoting Cone v. West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co., 330 U.S. 212, 216, 67 S.Ct. 752, 755 (1947)). We also stated that "[p]articular deference" is appropriate where the decision to grant or deny a new trial rested on the district court's evidentiary ruling that itself was entrusted to the trial court's discretion. See id.; see also Link v. Mercedes-Benz of N. Am., Inc., 788 F.2d 918, 921-22 (3d Cir. 1986) ("Where a contention for a new trial is based on the admissibility of evidence, the trial court has great discretion . . . which will not be disturbed on appeal absent a finding of abuse.") (internal quotation marks omitted).

We have indicated that a finding of reversible error " `may not be predicated upon a ruling which admits or excludes evidence unless a substantial right of the party is affected.' " See Glass v. Philadelphia Elec. Co., 34 F.3d 188, 191 (3d Cir. 1994) (quoting Linkstrom v. Golden T. Farms, 883 F.2d 269, 269 (3d Cir. 1989)); see also Fed. R. Evid. 103(a); Fed. R. Civ. P. 61. "In reviewing evidentiary rulings, if we find nonconstitutional error in a civil suit, such error is harmless only `if it is highly probable that the error did not affect the outcome of the case.' " Glass, 34 F.3d at 191 (quoting Lockhart v. Westinghouse Credit Corp. , 879 F.2d 43, 53, 59 (3d Cir. 1989)).

We review the district court's decision to admit evidence of a party's "prior bad acts" (which we will call "Rule 404(b) evidence") under Rules 404(b) and 403 for an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Morley, 199 F.3d 129, 133 n.6 (3d Cir. 1999); J&R Ice Cream, 31 F.3d at 1268; see also Hurley v. Atlantic City Police Dep't, 174 F.3d 95, 110 (3d Cir. 1999) ("We review evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion . . . with substantial deference under Rule 403.") (citation omitted); United States v. Balter, 91 F.3d 427, 437 (3d Cir. 1996) ("Trial court rulings under Rule 404(b) are reviewed for an abuse of discretion and may be reversed only when they are `clearly contrary to reason and not justified by the evidence.' ") (quoting United States v. Bethancourt, 65 F.3d 1074, 1079 (3d Cir. 1995) (citation omitted)). Where, however, the district court fails to explain its grounds for denying a Rule 403 objection and its reasons for doing so are not otherwise apparent from the record, there is no way to review its discretion. See United States v. Himelwright, 42 F.3d 777, 781 (3d Cir. 1994). In those circumstances, we need not defer to the district court's ruling, and we may undertake to examine the record and perform the required balancing ourselves. See id.; see also United States v. Sriyuth, 98 F.3d 739, 745 n.9 (3d Cir. 1996).

III. FACTS and PROCEEDINGS

A. Statement of Facts

We recite the germane facts from Becker's perspective as the verdict winner. See J&R Ice Cream, 31 F.3d at 1262. ARCO's predecessor, Sinclair-Koppers Company, hired Becker as a chemist in its Product Development Department in 1970. In 1980, Becker transferred to ARCO's headquarters in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, where the company assigned him to work in the physical testing laboratory until his discharge in March 1994. The physical testing laboratory is a part of ARCO's Chemical Research Services Group, which in turn is part of ARCO's Research and Development Department ("RDD"). At the time of Becker's discharge in 1994, Andrew Goldsmith ("Goldsmith") was Manager of the Research Services Group, and James Victor ("Victor") was the Manager of the Chemical Analysis and Physical Testing Laboratories. Victor was Becker's immediate supervisor, and Goldsmith was Victor's immediate supervisor and Becker's "second-level supervisor." Goldsmith's predecessor in his position was Dr. Kermit Ramey ("Ramey"), who retired from ARCO in 1992.

The physical testing laboratory conducted routine strength and durability tests on various materials used in a variety of products. ARCO employed Becker as a "Senior Principal Scientist," and in that capacity, he supervised three professionals, ten laboratory technicians and was responsible for testing thousands of samples. As the laboratory supervisor, Becker's responsibilities also included providing test results to ARCO's in-house customers that had submitted the samples for testing. Becker's position additionally required him to submit reports to his superiors which detailed his laboratory activities during specific time periods. App. at 2849.⁴

In each year of his employment with ARCO, Becker received written performance evaluations, which he submitted for the jury's consideration. In each performance evaluation Becker's overall ratings from 1970 to 1993 were average, above average, and in some years, superior. Moreover, each year from 1970 to 1993, ARCO increased Becker's salary either by a merit increase or a bonus. Even in his last year of employment, ARCO awarded Becker a one percent bonus.

Becker testified at trial that in May 1985, Kermit Ramey, then the Manager of the Research Services Group, told him that he was going to have a new supervisor, James Victor. According to Becker, Ramey told him that Dr. James Connor ("Connor"), Vice President of the RDD, "want[ed] to have younger people in management, [and] therefore, Jim Victor is going to be your new boss." App. at 2835.

Becker also testified that in March 1987, Victor advised...