Opinion ID: 584572
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sufficiency of evidence supporting the district court's findings of fact

Text: 37 Western-Southern challenges several of the district court's findings of fact as unsupported or contrary to the evidence. In general, Western-Southern contends that, on several issues where evidence offered by the Taylors was contradicted by evidence offered by Western-Southern, the district court credited the Taylors' testimony and discredited the testimony of Western-Southern's witnesses. On this issue, this court has held: 38 Appellate review of credibility determinations is severely limited. We shall reject a district judge's decision to believe oral testimony only where the testimony is seriously inconsistent internally, or contrary to established laws of nature or otherwise fantastic, or irreconcilably in conflict with indubitable documentary or physical evidence, stipulations of fact, admissions, or evidence of equivalent certainty. See Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 575 [105 S.Ct. 1504, 1512, 84 L.Ed.2d 518] (1985). 39 Bullard v. Sercon Corp., 846 F.2d 463, 466 (7th Cir.1988). Because our review of the trial transcript reveals no glaring inconsistencies or fantastic exaggerations in the testimony of Mr. Taylor and Mrs. Taylor, we reject this generalized challenge to the district court's credibility determinations. 40 More specifically, Western-Southern challenges several of the district court's fact-based findings. First, Western-Southern challenges the district court's finding that Charles Douglas made a point to mention to Mr. Taylor that the East St. Louis staff was all black. R.34 at 18. Western-Southern contends that the only testimony in support of this finding was Douglas' admission on cross-examination that he may have told Mr. Taylor that the staff was black. In response, Mr. Taylor contends that it is uncontradicted that Douglas' assistant, Max Pearson, made such a statement to Mr. Taylor. Indeed, one of the district court's findings of fact was that Pearson, rather than Douglas, told Mr. Taylor that the East St. Louis staff was all black. Thus, Western-Southern is correct that the district court erred. However, the court's error was simply that, in restating its finding, it attributed this remark to vice president Douglas rather than to assistant vice president Pearson. We do not believe that this matter can be considered outcome-determinative. 41 Second, Western-Southern challenges the district court's finding that Douglas and Harp criticized Mr. Taylor for his performance in 1986 even though his performance did not falter until November of that year. R.34 at 20. Western-Southern points to the EEOC charge, where Mr. Taylor asserted that the negative criticism began around November 1986. Mr. Taylor responds that he testified at trial that the criticism began around August 1986, and Douglas admitted on cross-examination that he probably criticized Mr. Taylor throughout 1986. The district court's finding was not clearly erroneous. 42 Third, Western-Southern challenges the district court's finding that Mrs. Taylor applied for, and was denied, the position of associate sales manager at the Alton office. R.34 at 11. Western-Southern points out that Mrs. Taylor testified at trial that she never formally applied for this job, but only telephoned Frank Harp and told him she was interested in and would like to be considered for the position. Given the vagueness of the phrase applied for, and given the fact that it is undisputed that, within hours of Mrs. Taylor's phone call to Frank Harp, Harp returned Mrs. Taylor's call and told her that the position was filled, we do not find that the court was clearly erroneous in concluding that Mrs. Taylor had applied for the position. 43 Fourth, Western-Southern contends that the district court erred in listing as an event which took place and support[s] a finding of aggravating circumstances the fact that O'Neal used racial epithets and slurs involving the word 'nigger' in the presence of [Mr. Taylor and Mrs. Taylor] during work hours when [Mr. Taylor] was the only black employee ... in the Peoria office. R.34 at 16-17. Western-Southern argues that the only slur testified to was the one-time use of the word nigger in connection with the gun-photograph incident and, thus, the court's finding of this event improperly suggests that racial slurs were commonplace at the Peoria office. Yet, as Mr. Taylor notes, Mrs. Taylor testified that O'Neal often told jokes derogatory of blacks including one with the punch line, [M]ay all your babies be white. Tr.I at 175. And Mr. Taylor testified that when O'Neal first took over the Peoria office, O'Neal told Mr. Taylor, [Y]ou are all right because I know you are married to a white. Tr.I at 43. Again, the district court's finding is not clearly erroneous. 44 Fifth, Western-Southern challenges the court's listing as an event which took place and support[s] a finding of aggravating circumstances that Douglas and Harp conspired to convince Mrs. Taylor to work as an ordinary agent and then reneged on their promise to let her return to a sales representative position. R.34 at 19. In response, Mr. Taylor contends that the contract clearly had a provision to allow Mrs. Taylor to return to a position as sales representative, and Mrs. Taylor was assured that she could return to that position at will. Furthermore, before Mrs. Taylor was discharged from her position as ordinary agent, she did seek to be reinstated as a debit agent. According to Mrs. Taylor's testimony, Harp denied that request. Tr.I at 196-97. Again, the district court's finding was not clearly erroneous. 45 We conclude that the district court's factual findings are sound. Western-Southern raises minor errors--such as the court's use of the name Douglas when it meant Pearson--as grounds for reversal. Considering that the court made over fifty findings of fact and relied upon twenty-one in concluding that aggravated circumstances existed, we do not believe that such errors are significant enough to affect the outcome of the case. There is considerable evidence to support the district court's conclusions that Western-Southern repeatedly discriminated against Mr. Taylor based upon his race and interracial marriage and that this pattern of discrimination caused Mr. Taylor to feel compelled to resign.