Opinion ID: 1818042
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: District Court Properly Denied Defendants' Motion for Directed Verdict

Text: For their next assignment of error, defendants claim that the district court failed to find that Billingsley failed to sustain his burden of proof because of Defendants' articulation of legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons for [Billingsley's] termination from employment so that no reasonable jury could have returned a verdict for [Billingsley]. We interpret this assignment to mean that defendants assign as error the district court's denial of their motion for a directed verdict. We conclude that the district court did not err in overruling defendants' motion for a directed verdict, and accordingly, we find this assignment of error to be without merit. A trial court should direct a verdict as a matter of law only when the facts are conceded, undisputed, or such that reasonable minds can draw but one conclusion therefrom. McLain v. Ortmeier, 259 Neb. 750, 612 N.W.2d 217 (2000); Nelson v. Lusterstone Surfacing Co., 258 Neb. 678, 605 N.W.2d 136 (2000). A directed verdict is proper at the close of all the evidence only when reasonable minds cannot differ and can draw but one conclusion from the evidence, that is to say, when an issue should be decided as a matter of law. McLain, supra ; Lackman v. Rousselle, 257 Neb. 87, 596 N.W.2d 15 (1999). The party against whom the verdict is directed is entitled to have every controverted fact resolved in his or her favor and to have the benefit of every inference which can reasonably be drawn from the evidence. If there is any evidence which will sustain a finding for the party against whom the motion is made, the case may not be decided as a matter of law. McLain, supra ; Alexander v. Warehouse, 253 Neb. 153, 568 N.W.2d 892 (1997). In reviewing the action of a trial court, an appellate court must treat a motion for directed verdict as an admission of the truth of all competent evidence submitted on behalf of the party against whom the motion is directed; such being the case, the party against whom the motion is directed is entitled to have every controverted fact resolved in its favor and to have the benefit of every inference which can reasonably be deduced from the evidence. McLain, supra ; Lackman, supra . Defendants argue that they adduced evidence of legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons as to why Billingsley's employment was terminated and that, therefore, no reasonable jury could have returned a verdict for Billingsley. In cases arising under the age discrimination act, we have held that although the ultimate burden of persuasion by a preponderance of the evidence at all times remains with the plaintiff, the method of proof is for the plaintiff to prove a prima facie case; if the plaintiff succeeds in so doing, the defendant has the burden of articulating some legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its action. Should the defendant succeed in so doing, the plaintiff must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the legitimate reasons offered by the defendant were not its true reasons, but were a pretext for discrimination. ... See McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). (As recently clarified in St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993), McDonnell Douglas Corp. allocates the burden of production and the order for the presentation of the evidence; the ultimate burden of persuasion, however, rests on the plaintiff.) Humphrey v. Nebraska Public Power Dist., 243 Neb. 872, 878, 503 N.W.2d 211, 217 (1993) (quoting Allen v. AT & T Technologies, 228 Neb. 503, 423 N.W.2d 424 (1988)). We have stated that to establish a prima facie case of age discrimination, the plaintiff must establish that (1) he or she was in the protected group, (2) he or she was subjected to an adverse employment action, (3) he or she was qualified for the position, and (4) the person who received the position was outside of the protected group. Humphrey, supra . The ultimate issue is whether age was a determining factor in the employer's decision. Id. In Humphrey, the plaintiff claimed on appeal that the trial court erred in not directing a verdict in his favor on his claim of age discrimination. We reviewed the record and determined that the evidence was in dispute and presented an issue as to whether the employer had articulated legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for its decisions or whether those reasons were merely pretextual. We concluded that because of the dispute in the record, the trial court did not err in denying the plaintiff's motion for directed verdict. In Humphrey, we stated: The evidence was not such that reasonable minds could draw but one conclusion.... Because it is the prerogative of the jury, as the trier of fact, to resolve conflicts in the evidence and to determine the weight and credibility to be given to testimony of witnesses ... the evidence clearly presented a submissible issue for the jury. The trial court thus properly denied Humphrey's motion for directed verdict.... 243 Neb. at 881-82, 503 N.W.2d at 219. In the instant case, as in Humphrey, there was a conflict in the evidence. Although defendants introduced evidence of a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for Billingsley's termination, namely, performance issues, Billingsley introduced evidence from which a jury could determine that those reasons were merely pretextual. Billingsley's evidence included testimony that Dahlke stated an employee should be fired because he's old. He's useless. He looks bad for the corporate image.... Get rid of that old man. Additionally, testimony indicated that Dahlke wanted an entire new face-lift that would allow a younger look to the entire department and employment decisions were made in accordance with this stated objective. A trial court should direct a verdict as a matter of law only when the facts are conceded, undisputed, or such that reasonable minds can draw but one conclusion therefrom. Nebraska Nutrients v. Shepherd, 261 Neb. 723, 626 N.W.2d 472 (2001). Our review of the record shows that the evidence in this case created an issue for the jury as to whether defendants had articulated legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for their decision to terminate Billingsley or whether those reasons were merely pretextual. As such, we conclude that the district did not err in denying the defendants' motion for directed verdict and submitting the case to the jury.