Opinion ID: 754156
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Dr. Gunn's Proffer

Text: 10 There was considerable confusion below concerning whether this Court's previous opinion required the district court to give Garcia a new trial, wherein she would have the opportunity to call Dr. Gunn to testify, followed by an appropriate ruling on any Rule 50 motion reurged by the hospital. This Court's opinion carefully identifies the sort of testimony Dr. Gunn might have given, which would have affected the propriety of the hospital's Rule 50 motion. Garcia I, 97 F.3d at 814. The district court determined that it would be more efficient to take Dr. Gunn's testimony by proffer before selecting a jury, and determine based thereon whether to allow Garcia a new trial. We are unwilling to say that such approach was an abuse of discretion. It would have been a waste of resources for the district court to grant a new trial, if Dr. Gunn's testimony was not helpful to Garcia's case. If Dr. Gunn's testimony failed to establish disparate treatment (i.e., discriminatory application of the hospital's policies to pregnant women), then the jury would have to be dismissed, because the disparate impact claim standing alone cannot be tried to a jury. 1 Furthermore, if Dr. Gunn's testimony failed to establish that the hospital's policies had a disparate impact on pregnant women, then judgment as a matter of law would be appropriate. Therefore, one can easily see the wisdom in taking Dr. Gunn's testimony and assessing its probative value prior to incurring the expense of a new trial, and we find no abuse of discretion by the district court in doing so.