Shea v. Icelandair

• Decision Date: 25 April 1996
• Docket Number: No. 92 Civ. 7994 (WK) (JCF).,92 Civ. 7994 (WK) (JCF).
• Citation: 925 F. Supp. 1014
• Parties: Alfred J. SHEA, Plaintiff, v. ICELANDAIR, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

925 F. Supp. 1014

Alfred J. SHEA, Plaintiff, v. ICELANDAIR, Defendant.

No. 92 Civ. 7994 (WK) (JCF).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

April 25, 1996.

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Jeffrey C. Slade, Leventhal Slade & Krantz, New York City, for plaintiff.

Michael I. Volpe and Alan S. Adolph, Clifton Budd & Demaria, New York City, for defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

FRANCIS, United States Magistrate Judge.

This case lies at the intersection of employment discrimination jurisprudence and personal injury law. Although the jury found that the plaintiff was demoted for discriminatory reasons, his damages are attributable not to any loss in compensation but rather to the fact that he suffered physically and emotionally as a result of the defendant's conduct. At the same time, the plaintiff's disabilities complicate the process of reinstating him to his prior position.

The jury awarded the plaintiff, Alfred Shea, damages of $250,000. The defendant, Icelandair, has now moved pursuant to Rule 59 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for a new trial on damages or, in the alternative, for remittitur. Mr. Shea, in turn, has cross-moved for reinstatement or for an award of front pay. I will address each motion in turn.

Background

Since May of 1956, Alfred Shea, an American citizen, has been an employee of Icelandair, which, as its name implies, is an airline based in Iceland. (Tr. at 59).¹ Mr. Shea was employed in the company's cargo department, and in 1971 he became cargo operations manager for the United States, with an office at John F. Kennedy International Airport ("JFK"). (Tr. at 59, 62-63). Mr. Shea remained in this position until 1991. (Tr. at 110-11). In 1980 his official title was modified to "Manager for the Western Hemisphere." (Tr. at 64). While in that position he regularly worked ten- to twelve-hour days and accepted telephone calls at home at night and on weekends when his attention to cargo operations was required. (Tr. at 71-72). In thirty-five years of working for Icelandair, Mr. Shea took only two sick days prior to 1991. (Tr. 72-73). In 1985, he received an industry-wide award for being an outstanding employee in the cargo business. (Tr. at 73-74). Following Mr. Shea's receipt of this award, Icelandair issued a press release that read:

Al Shea, a 28 year veteran with Icelandair, was chosen for his outstanding contributions in developing the airline's cargo business out of the United States over the years and for maintaining it at high levels, although working with limited manpower assistance. Al was also cited for his fine start-up work in FI's Icelandair's new gateways of Baltimore-Washington, Detroit and Orlando. Al works out of offices at JFK, but directs the cargo activities for FI at our other U.S. gateways through local handling companies. It's a busy, often hectic job and one that can involve a substantial amount of travel to the other gateways, but Al loves the line and he is a very popular fellow with his coworkers. Congratulations, Al, and thanks for putting Icelandair in the limelight again, too.

(Tr. at 74-75).

In 1991, at the age of sixty-three, Mr. Shea became the subject of what amounted to a campaign to force his retirement. He received repeated complaints from his superiors about his allegedly unsatisfactory performance and about various mishandled cargo transactions. (Tr. at 85-110). On May 8, 1991, Mr. Shea was summoned into the office of his supervisor, Sigfus Erlingsson. (Tr. at 110). Mr. Erlingsson informed Mr. Shea that the company had decided to demote him because of dissatisfaction with his performance, and implied that age was a factor in the decision. (Tr. at 110-11).² Over Mr. Shea's strenuous objections, Icelandair issued a press release to its employees and customers announcing that Mr. Shea was proceeding toward retirement. (Tr. at 121-22).

In the summer of 1991, Mr. Shea was demoted to the position of district sales manager. (Tr. at 116, 119, 122-23). He was replaced by Jon Theodorsson, a younger, less experienced employee of Icelandic origin. (Tr. at 116-17, 119, 122-23). Mr. Shea was relieved of supervisory responsibilities over cargo department employees and was required to report to Mr. Theodorsson. (Tr. at 119). Although Mr. Theodorsson took over Mr. Shea's position without assuming any additional duties, he was given the title "Director," which is more prestigious than "Manager" in the Icelandair hierarchy. (Tr. at 123-24). While Mr. Shea's salary was frozen, it was not reduced, and it remained higher than that of Mr. Theodorsson. (Tr. at 122).

Following Mr. Shea's demotion, the atmosphere in the department changed dramatically. Mr. Shea was routinely excluded from department meetings. (Tr. at 126-27). Mr. Theodorsson and Sigurdur Gundmundsson, another employee, consistently spoke Icelandic to each other and to some of the customers in the office, effectively barring Mr. Shea from the conversations. (Tr. at 125-26). Further, the plaintiff was told that it was time to relinquish his role as chairman of Icelandair's pension committee and let the "younger generation" assume leadership. (Tr. at 167-68). Finally, Mr. Shea was often left by himself with the responsibility of answering five telephone lines that sometimes rang simultaneously. (Tr. at 168-70).

Mr. Shea complained to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") that he was being discriminated against because of his age and because he was not Icelandic. The EEOC found that age and ethnic origin "were factors in the decision to force Mr. Shea's retirement, which led to his subsequent demotion." (Tr. at 172; PX 175).

Following his demotion, Mr. Shea's health rapidly declined. Immediately after the demotion he sought treatment from his physician, Dr. Paul Brodsky. (Shea Tr. at 7-8). In 1992, Mr. Shea was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and he began exhibiting significant symptoms. (Shea Tr. at 2-4, 15-16, 21-22). Most recently, in the fall of 1995 Mr. Shea required hospitalization following an angina attack. (Tr. at 169-170). Mr. Shea's cardiologist linked Mr. Shea's heart condition to the stressful situation at work. (Tr. at 320-21).

In 1992, Mr. Shea commenced this action against Icelandair pursuant to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634 ("ADEA"), Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e through 2000e-17 ("Title VII"), and the New York Human Rights Law, N.Y.Exec.L. §§ 296-298 ("Human Rights Law"). The parties consented to my jurisdiction for all purposes pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).

The plaintiff asserted that the defendant's campaign to force him to retire early, culminating in his demotion, exacerbated the symptoms that he suffered as a consequence of Parkinson's disease. He further contended that the conditions he worked under following his demotion resulted in angina attacks in the fall of 1995. In addition to arguing that the defendant willfully discriminated against him on the basis of age and national origin, Mr. Shea contended that Icelandair retaliated against him for filing a grievance with the EEOC.

The trial was bifurcated into liability and damages stages. On December 14, 1995, following the four-day liability phase, the jury found that Icelandair had discriminated against Mr. Shea because of his age by demoting him or adversely affecting the terms and conditions of his employment. However, the jury did not find this discrimination to be willful. The jury also rejected the plaintiff's claims of discrimination based on national origin and on retaliation. After hearing an additional two days of testimony concerning damages, the same jury awarded Mr. Shea $250,000 in compensatory damages for pain and suffering, mental and emotional stress, anguish, humiliation, or loss of enjoyment of life as a result of age discrimination. The jury declined to award the plaintiff any damages for lost compensation or future medical costs.

Discussion

A. Defendant's Motion

The defendant moves for a partial new trial on the issue of damages, or, in alternative, for remittitur on the ground that the jury's award is excessive.

1. Standard for New Trial and Remittitur

In considering a motion for a new trial, in contrast to a motion for judgment as a matter of law, the trial judge may weigh conflicting evidence and need not view the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Song v. Ives Laboratories, Inc., 957 F.2d 1041, 1047 (2d Cir. 1992); Bevevino v. Saydjari, 574 F.2d 676, 684 (2d Cir.1978); United States v. Real Property Known as 77 East 3rd Street, New York, New York, 869 F.Supp. 1042, 1064 (S.D.N.Y.1994); Koerner v. Club Mediterranee, S.A., 833 F.Supp. 327, 331 (S.D.N.Y. 1993). A motion for a new trial should be granted when "the jury has reached a seriously erroneous result or ... the verdict is a miscarriage of justice." Smith v. Lightning Bolt Productions, Inc., 861 F.2d 363, 370 (2d Cir.1988). Thus,

the trial judge, exercising a mature judicial discretion, should view the verdict in the overall setting of the trial; consider the character of the evidence and the complexity or simplicity of the legal principles which the jury was bound to apply to the facts; and abstain from interfering unless it is quite clear that the jury has reached a seriously erroneous result. The judge's duty is essentially to see that there is no miscarriage of justice. If convinced that there has been then it is his duty to set the verdict aside; otherwise not.

Bevevino, 574 F.2d at 684. Since the defendant's motion is directed to the size of the damage award, these principles must be applied here in conjunction with those governing purportedly excessive verdicts.

A district court that finds a verdict to be excessive does not have the power simply to reduce the damage award. See Tingley Systems, Inc. v. Norse Systems, Inc., 49 F.3d 93, 96 (2d Cir.1995) (citing Vasbinder v....