Ginett v. Computer Task Group, Inc.
| Decision Date | 08 December 1993 |
| Docket Number | D,No. 326,326 |
| Citation | 11 F.3d 359 |
| Parties | Frank J. GINETT, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COMPUTER TASK GROUP, INC., Defendant-Appellee. ocket 93-7410. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Robert E. Knoer, Buffalo, NY (David P. Marcus, of counsel), for plaintiff-appellant.
H. Kenneth Schroeder, Buffalo, NY (Hodgson, Russ, Andrews, Woods & Goodyear, of counsel), for defendant-appellee.
Before: OAKES, PRATT, and MAHONEY, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiff Frank J. Ginett appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, John T. Elfvin, Judge, based on a jury verdict of $31,920 on his claim for severance pay.
The underlying dispute in this case stems from Ginett's termination from employment at Computer Task Group, Inc. ("CTG"). See Ginett v. Computer Task Group, Inc., 962 F.2d 1085 (2d Cir.1992). While his complaint includes several causes of action, including breach of contract and wrongful discharge, this appeal deals only with his claim for severance pay under an agreement with CTG.
This case returns to us after our reversal of the district court's granting of summary judgment on the severance claim to plaintiff in an amount that included $80,000 of deferred incentive compensation. In an opinion filed April 29, 1992, we held that CTG is liable to Ginett for the payment of severance pay, but that there was a triable issue as to the amount. Specifically, addressing the issue of the calculation of severance pay in the remand, we stated:
The district court concluded that the entire $80,000 that was paid on November 3, 1988 was to be included within the "last three months['] total compensation." While that is one reasonable reading of the documents, nevertheless, it would be at least as reasonable to read the 1988-92 plan as contemplating the calculation of severance pay based only upon one, quarterly, $20,000 installment of deferred incentive compensation. * * * We think a trial is necessary to resolve the conflict and to determine which interpretation was truly intended by the parties.
Ginett, 962 F.2d at 1100-01 (emphasis added).
We therefore remanded "for a trial on the limited issue of the amount of deferred incentive compensation [either $20,000 or $80,000], to be included in the calculation of severance pay." Id. at 1101.
On remand, Ginett moved in limine for a ruling that the only question to be presented to the jury was the issue of whether $20,000 or $80,000 of the deferred compensation should be included in the severance formula. The trial court denied Ginett's motion and, contrary to our direction, allowed CTG to argue a third possibility to the jury--that the $80,000 deferred compensation paid to Ginett on November 3, 1988 (25 days before he was terminated) should not be included in the severance calculation at all.
Under the doctrine of law of the case, a district court generally may not deviate from a mandate issued by an appellate court, see Briggs v. Pennsylvania R.R. Co., 334 U.S. 304, 306, 68 S.Ct. 1039, 1040, 92 L.Ed. 1403 (1948), and the appellate court retains the right to control the actions of the district court where the mandate has been misconstrued or has not been given full effect, see In re Sanford Fork & Tool Co., 160 U.S. 247, 255, 16 S.Ct. 291, 293, 40 L.Ed. 414 Guided by these principles, we conclude that the district court erred in departing from our mandate that limited the issue at trial to a determination of whether $20,000 or $80,000 should be included in the calculation of severance pay.
(1895); see also In re Ivan F. Boesky...
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