Miller v. Butcher Distributors
| Decision Date | 29 July 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 94-30613,94-30613 |
| Citation | 89 F.3d 265 |
| Parties | 71 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 641 Mona MILLER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. BUTCHER DISTRIBUTORS, Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Julie Richard-Spencer, Louis L. Robein, Jr., Robein, Urann & Lurye, Metairie, LA, for appellant.
Barry J. Sallinger, Lafayette, LA, for appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Before DAVIS and PARKER, Circuit Judges, and BUNTON 1, District Judge.
I. PROCEEDINGS BELOW
Mona Miller filed an age discrimination action against Butcher Distributors under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. After the jury awarded Miller a judgment of $45,000, the district court granted Butcher Distributors' motion for judgment as a matter of law and conditionally granted Butcher Distributors' motion for a new trial. Miller timely appealed.
II. ANALYSIS
The district court granted the defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law on the grounds that Miller did not establish a prima facie case and that she did not adduce any direct evidence of discrimination based upon her age. This court reviews a district court's grant of judgment as a matter of law de novo and affirms only if the facts and inferences are so strong and overwhelming that a reasonable jury could not arrive at a contrary verdict. E.E.O.C. v. Louisiana Office of Community Servs., 47 F.3d 1438, 1443 (5th Cir.1995). If reasonable minds might reach different conclusions, the motion for judgment as a matter of law should be denied and the case submitted to the jury. Id.
Butcher Distributors supports the judgment as a matter of law on two grounds. First, it argues that Miller did not make out a prima facie case. Specifically, Butcher Distributors argues that (1) Miller was not qualified for the position, (2) she was not terminated from her employment, and (3) she was not replaced. Second, Butcher supports the judgment as a matter of law by arguing that Miller failed to satisfy her burden of persuasion in regard to rebutting the proffer of a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for termination.
"When an employment discrimination case reaches the fact finder, the pertinent inquiry is whether the plaintiff has proven discrimination, not whether he has made a prima facie case." Shattuck v. Kinetic Concepts, Inc., 49 F.3d 1106, 1110 (5th Cir.1995). Therefore, Butcher Distributors' first argument is essentially that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury verdict for Miller. See Weaver v. Amoco Prod. Co., 66 F.3d 85, 87 (5th Cir.1995).
In this regard, Butcher Distributors argues that the only evidence offered to show discrimination was Miller's self-serving testimony and that the district court properly disregarded such testimony in deciding that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury verdict. See Ralston Purina Co. v. Hobson, 554 F.2d 725 (5th Cir.1977). However, Butcher Distributors misapplies Ralston. Miller's testimony was not "naturally impossible," as was the case in Ralston. See Dotson v. Clark Equip. Co., 783 F.2d 586, 588 (5th Cir.1986). Whether or not Miller was qualified for the job was hotly disputed, and the parties attempted to produce evidence to support both views. We must examine the record to determine if a reasonable jury could have reached the same verdict.
There is no dispute that Miller, who was 57 years old at the time of her departure from Butcher Distributors, was within the protected class. However, Butcher Distributors for the first time now argues, somewhat inanely, that Miller was not actually terminated from employment. Instead, the defendant contends that Miller was offered a part-time position which she refused. Thus, Butcher Distributors asserts that Miller voluntarily resigned.
In its order granting the judgment as a matter of law, the district court wrote that "[t]he defendants have claimed throughout this proceeding that the reason Miller was terminated was her inability to acquire the computer skills necessary to perform her job" (emphasis added). Butcher Distributors did not challenge the district court's finding. The failure to file a cross appeal in a timely manner as mandated by Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure precludes Butcher Distributors from now raising this argument. "[W]ithout the filing of a cross-appeal, an appellee 'may not attack the decree with a view either to enlarging his own rights thereunder or of lessening the rights of his adversary, whether what he seeks is to correct an error or to supplement the decree with respect to a matter not dealt with below.' " Robicheaux v. Radcliff Material, Inc., 697 F.2d 662, 668 (5th Cir.1983), quoting, Morley Constr. Co. v. Maryland Casualty Co., 300 U.S. 185, 191, 57 S.Ct. 325, 328, 81 L.Ed. 593 (1937).
Furthermore, even if Butcher Distributors had properly raised this argument, we find no merit in it. The evidence presented at trial allowed...
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