Stratton v. DEPARTMENT FOR AGING CITY OF NEW YORK

• Decision Date: 12 March 1996
• Docket Number: No. 91 Civ. 6623 (SAS).,91 Civ. 6623 (SAS).
• Citation: 922 F. Supp. 857
• Parties: Joyce STRATTON, Plaintiff, v. The DEPARTMENT FOR THE AGING FOR the CITY OF NEW YORK, The City of New York and Prema Mathai-Davis, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

922 F. Supp. 857

Joyce STRATTON, Plaintiff, v. The DEPARTMENT FOR THE AGING FOR the CITY OF NEW YORK, The City of New York and Prema Mathai-Davis, Defendants.

No. 91 Civ. 6623 (SAS).

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

March 12, 1996.

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Jeffrey C. Slade, Leventhal Slade & Krantz, New York City, and Mark J. Stratton, New York City, for plaintiff.

Masako Shiono, Susan Hartzell, Assistant Corporation Counsels, Office of The Corporation Counsel, New York City, for defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

SCHEINDLIN, District Judge:

After a five day trial in this age discrimination action, the jury returned a verdict for Plaintiff Joyce Stratton. The jury found that age was a determinative factor in Defendants' decision to terminate Plaintiff's employment at the New York City Department for the Aging, and/or their decision not to recall or rehire her. The jury also found that the decision not to rehire Plaintiff was motivated by a desire to retaliate against her for filing an age discrimination claim, and that Defendants' violation of the law was willful. The jury awarded Plaintiff $500,000 in damages.¹

A variety of post-trial motions are now before this Court. Defendants move, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(b), for judgment as a matter of law on Plaintiff's claims of disparate treatment and retaliation.² Defendants also move, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(a), for a new trial on the grounds that the jury reached a "seriously erroneous" result because of the Court's wrongful admission of statistical evidence. Finally, Defendants move for a new trial, or a substantial remittitur, on the grounds that the jury's award was "clearly excessive." Plaintiff not only opposes each of these motions, but has cross-moved for an award of front pay and the restoration of her full pension and social security benefits.

For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' motion for judgment as a matter of law is denied, as is their motion for a new trial based on the erroneous admission of statistical evidence. Defendants' motion for a new trial based on the excessiveness of the jury's verdict is denied on the condition that Plaintiff consent to a remittitur. Finally, Plaintiff's motion for front pay and the restoration of her benefits is granted.

I. Factual Background

Plaintiff Joyce Stratton was the Director of the Central Information and Referral Bureau of the New York City Department for the Aging ("DFTA") from 1975 until 1991. In this capacity, Plaintiff managed a staff of up to 35 that provided a wide array of information and services to New York City's elderly citizens. At the time of her dismissal in 1991, Plaintiff was 61 years old. Trial Transcript ("Tr.") at 42, 58, 74, 101, 103.

In 1990, Defendant Prema Mathai-Davis, who was then 39 years old, was appointed Commissioner of the Department for the Aging. Tr. at 20. Approximately a year after Dr. Mathai-Davis' appointment, on February 22, 1991, Dr. Stratton's employment was terminated. Tr. at 103. At trial, Plaintiff asserted that her dismissal was motivated by age discrimination; specifically, Plaintiff argued that Dr. Mathai-Davis demonstrated a marked preference for staff closer to her own age. Tr. at 664. Defendants dispute that age played any role in the decision to terminate Dr. Stratton's employment. At trial, Dr. Mathai-Davis and other defense witnesses testified that the decision had been dictated by budget cuts which forced them to eliminate 17 positions at the Central Information and Referral Bureau. Tr. at 436, 442, 493.

After Plaintiff was terminated, she made significant efforts to find other comparable employment, but was unsuccessful. Tr. at 110-113. Although other employees who were laid off by DFTA in 1991 were eventually rehired, Plaintiff was never asked to return to her old job. See Deposition of Jean McEwan at 11, 16-17; Tr. at 120. At trial, Plaintiff asserted that Defendants' refusal to rehire her was motivated in part by a desire to retaliate against her for filing an age discrimination claim. Specifically, Plaintiff alleged that Defendants failed to adequately consider her for the position of Director of the Bureau of Benefits and Entitlements, a new position created in 1992; and that Defendants ultimately selected a person far less qualified than she for the position. Tr. at 124-25, 674, 675.

II. Legal Standard for Judgment as a Matter of Law or a New Trial

Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(a)(1) sets forth the standard for granting a motion for judgment as a matter of law:

If during a trial by jury a party has been fully heard on an issue and there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find for that party on that issue, the court may determine the issue against that party and may grant a motion for judgment as a matter of law against that party with respect to a claim or defense that cannot under the controlling law be maintained or defeated without a favorable finding on that issue (emphasis added).

Such a motion may only be granted when "there is such a complete absence of evidence supporting the verdict that the jury's findings could only have been the result of sheer surmise and conjecture, or where there is such an overwhelming amount of evidence in favor of the movant that reasonable and fair minded persons could not arrive at a verdict against the movant." Logan v. Bennington College Corp., 72 F.3d 1017, 1022 (2d Cir.1995) (internal quotation omitted).

When deciding a motion brought under Rule 50, the Court may not weigh the evidence or assess the credibility of witnesses. Instead, the Court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, giving it the benefit of all legitimate inferences that may be made in its favor. See Samuels v. Air Transport Local 504, 992 F.2d 12, 14-16 (2d Cir.1993); Banff Ltd. v. Express, Inc., 921 F.Supp. 1065, 1067 (S.D.N.Y.1996).

The standard for granting a motion for a new trial is less restrictive. Such a motion may be granted if the jury's verdict is "seriously erroneous" or constitutes a "miscarriage of justice." See Purnell v. Lord, 952 F.2d 679, 686 (2d Cir.1992); Katara v. D.E. Jones Commodities, Inc., 835 F.2d 966, 970 (2d Cir.1987). The Court may find that "a miscarriage of justice" has occurred if the jury's verdict is "against the weight of the evidence," or if the "the trial was not fair to the moving party." See Mallis v. Bankers Trust Co., 717 F.2d 683, 691 (2d Cir.1983). However, "the grant of a new trial on weight of evidence grounds should be reserved for those occasions where the jury's verdict was egregious." Dunlap-McCuller v. Riese Organization, 980 F.2d 153, 158 (2d Cir.1992), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 114 S.Ct. 290, 126 L.Ed.2d 239 (1993).

III. Judgment as a Matter of Law

Defendants assert that they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law on Plaintiff's claims for disparate treatment and retaliation. Defendants maintain that Plaintiff failed to prove that age was a determinative factor in either their decision to terminate her employment or their decision not to recall or rehire her. Further, Defendants maintain that there is no evidence supporting the jury's finding that Defendants' decision not to rehire Plaintiff was motivated by a desire to retaliate against her for filing an age discrimination claim. For the reasons discussed below, neither of Defendants' contentions has merit.

A. Disparate Treatment Claim

To state a prima facie case of age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), Plaintiff had to demonstrate that: (1) she was 40 years of age or older; (2) her employment was terminated, or she was not recalled or rehired; (3) she had satisfactorily performed her job; (4) her discharge occurred under circumstances giving rise to an inference of age discrimination. See Gallo v. Prudential Residential Services, Ltd., 22 F.3d 1219, 1225 (2d Cir. 1994) (citation omitted). Defendants concede that Plaintiff satisfied the first three elements of this test; however, they contend that she failed to demonstrate that she was discharged under circumstances raising an inference of age discrimination.

Plaintiff offered more than enough evidence to raise an inference that she was a victim of age discrimination. The evidence revealed that Dr. Stratton had repeatedly received "very good" and "outstanding" evaluations prior to her termination. Tr. at 75-78. The evidence also demonstrated that, almost immediately after Plaintiff's employment was terminated, DFTA handed over a good portion of her responsibilities — as well as her office — to a younger and less qualified person. See Deposition of Kitty Williston at 47, 54. Indeed, the evidence revealed that in the fourteen months after Prema Mathai-Davis took over as Commissioner of DFTA, the average age of DFTA's highest ranking officials declined by almost five years. See Plaintiff's Trial Exs. 241, 242.

At trial, Defendants asserted that Plaintiff was laid off because of a budget crisis the city faced in 1991. However, there was ample evidence for the jury to deem this defense a mere pretext and to conclude that age was the real reason for Defendants' actions. Plaintiff presented evidence that even before she was laid off, she was subjected to adverse treatment under Defendant Mathai-Davis' administration. She testified that she was excluded from closed door meetings held between her staff and her supervisor; that she was told not to participate any longer on task forces and committees on which she was serving; that her administrative staff was taken away from her, including her secretary, administrative assistant and technical writer; and that she was excluded from a management retreat similar to previous ones she had attended. Tr. at 80-82, 89-92.

More importantly, Plaintiff presented evidence that Defendants knew that the "budget crisis" would not have much lasting impact, and that someone would still be...