Opinion ID: 768931
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Ultramar's Appeal

Text: 3 Ultramar contends the court erred in charging the jury on the burden-shifting analysis set out in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973). We agree that juries should not be charged on the McDonnell-Douglas burden-shifting framework. See, e.g., Greenaway v. Buffalo Hilton Hotel, 143 F.3d 47, 53 (2d Cir. 1998) (Courts-not juries-should determine whether the initial McDonnell-Douglas burdens of production have been met.). It is the judge, not the jury, who must decide whether plaintiff has satisfied the requirements of McDonnell-Douglas's minimal version of a prima facie case, thereby shifting the burden of going forward to the defendant, as well as whether the defendant has subsequently satisfied the burden of proffering a nondiscriminatory reason for its conduct. Instructing the jury on this complex process produces no benefit and runs the unnecessary risk of confusing the jury. If the plaintiff has successfully made a prima facie case and the defendant has met its burden of proffering a reason other than discrimination for its actions, the court should instruct the jury that plaintiff bears the burden of proving that the defendant was motivated by prohibited discrimination-without reference to the successive burden-shifting tests that the parties have been required to pass. 4 Nonetheless, we see no basis in this record for concluding that charging the jury on a superfluous matter caused prejudice to the defendant. The jury was repeatedly charged on the plaintiff's ultimate burden to prove that age was a determinative factor or real reason in the defendant's treatment of Sharkey. The jury's verdict form furthermore evidences a finding that the defendant Ultramar Corporation discriminated against plaintiff on the basis of his age. We can see no reason to order retrial. 5 Nor do we find merit in Ultramar's other attacks on the judgment. View[ing] the evidence in the light most favorable to [plaintiff], Piesco v. Koch, 12 F.3d 332, 343 (2d Cir. 1993) (internal quotation marks omitted), and making all credibility determinations and drawing all inferences in his favor, we cannot say there was no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find that Ultramar discriminated against Sharkey on account of his age. Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(a)(1). We therefore cannot agree with the defendant that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law, notwithstanding the jury's verdict. Nor is the evidence legally insufficient to support findings that Sharkey acted reasonably in declining his job relocation offer and that he reasonably endeavored to mitigate his damages. Finally, we find no merit to Ultramar's argument that Sharkey's claim accrued on July 1, 1991 and was therefore time-barred. Therefore, we affirm the district court's order denying judgment as a matter of law.