Opinion ID: 3014542
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether the District Court erred in failing to

Text: provide the requested jury interrogatory. We review the formulation of special interrogatories for abuse of discretion. Merritt Logan, Inc. v. Fleming Cos., 901 F.2d 349, 367-68 (3d Cir. 1990). The special interrogatory given to the jury was, “Has Plaintiff, Michael Potence, proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the Defendant, Hazleton Area School District, discriminated against him on the basis of age in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act?” App. at 55-56. The School District requested that the Court include the following special interrogatory, “Do you find that Mr. Sweda would have been hired even if Mr. Potence’s age had not been considered?”, but the trial court denied that interrogatory. App. at 206. The School District contends that the District Court’s refusal to include this question provided the jury with only half the applicable legal standard. We reject that contention. It is not realistic to view the issue posed by this case as consisting of two halves. There was one issue: whether Potence was discriminated against in violation of the ADEA. The School District cites an opinion in which the court stated that “[i]n a complicated case such as this, the special interrogatory device localizes and focalizes the specific problems and issues whereas a general verdict often permits improper jury meandering.” Jamison Co. v. Westvaco Corp., 526 F.2d 922, 935 (5th Cir. 1976). However, at issue in that case was a contract and damages computation by the jury that had “many possible alternatives, asymetrical [sic] incongruencies, potential solecisms, and error compounded upon error.” Id. In contrast, the instant case is a straightforward discrimination claim with no such labyrinth for a juror to navigate. The District Court addressed the issue raised by the School District in the following jury charge: “If the Plaintiff 8 has offered evidence from which you could conclude that the Defendant School District discriminated against him because of his age, then the Plaintiff is entitled to recover unless the School District proves by a preponderance of the evidence that it would have taken the same action regardless of the Plaintiff ’s age.” App. at 11. Inasmuch as the Court gave this charge, it did not abuse its discretion in declining to give the requested special verdict interrogatory.