Opinion ID: 658097
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Related Title VII and Human Rights Law Claims

Text: 44 As stated above, the district court ruled from the bench that the jury verdict on the plaintiffs' EPA claims had binding effect on the related Title VII and HRL claims stemming from the same facts. When entering j.n.o.v. in favor of the defendants on the plaintiffs' EPA retaliation claims, the district court noted that judgment as a matter of law must also be entered on the related Title VII and HRL claims because there was no other basis to support a verdict aside from the jury's verdict. As we explained above, the district court improperly considered the defendants' j.n.o.v. motion on the plaintiffs' EPA retaliation claims because it was procedurally barred. However, because the plaintiffs failed to establish a cause of action under the EPA for retaliation, and thus their claims should never have been submitted to the jury, the jury's verdict is equally infirm, and thus cannot have binding effect. See Marshall v. Nelson Elec., 766 F.Supp. 1018, 1027 (N.D.Okla.1991) ([I]f the ... claim should not have been submitted to the jury in the first place, the jury's findings are viewed as an academic exercise, a nullity, and nothing more than advisory. Under such circumstances, the jury's factual findings would not be binding on the Court for purposes of the Title VII claim.), aff'd without opinion, 999 F.2d 547 (10th Cir.1993); Swentek v. USAIR, Inc., 830 F.2d 552, 559 (4th Cir.1987) (The Seventh Amendment does not require the trial judge to conform his findings to a jury verdict that is infirm.) 45 Examining the plaintiffs' retaliation claims under Title VII and the HRL, we hold that the plaintiffs failed to proffer evidence that could support a finding that a retaliatory motive played a part in the Hospital's promoting Dupre rather than one of the plaintiffs. The job qualifications for the manager position--five to six years printing experience, design and typesetting experience, and familiarity with microfilm process--had been the same since 1977, before any of the plaintiffs worked in the Department. Although plaintiffs produced evidence at trial sufficient to support a conclusion that Dupre's printing skills were lacking, there is no evidence that he failed to meet the qualifications set forth in the job description, or that the plaintiffs met them. See Canino v. EEOC, 707 F.2d 468, 471 (11th Cir.1983) (no prima facie case of retaliatory failure to promote where plaintiff did not meet qualifications of position sought); Ashker v. International Business Machs. Corp., 168 A.D.2d 724, 725, 563 N.Y.S.2d 572, 573 (3d Dep't 1990) (in unlawful discharge case brought under the HRL, employee must prove qualification for the job from which she was discharged); see also State Div. of Human Rights ex rel. Carey v. Human Rights Comm'r of Syracuse, 79 A.D.2d 181, 185, 436 N.Y.S.2d 502, 505 (4th Dep't 1981) (upholding retaliation award under HRL where plaintiff was qualified for position and employer failed to hire her because of prior filing of complaint). Nor is there evidence showing that the job description was tailored specifically to select Dupre or pass over the plaintiffs or women generally. See Coble v. Hot Springs Sch. Dist. No. 6, 682 F.2d 721, 728-29 (8th Cir.1982); Hartman v. Wick, 600 F.Supp. 361, 363-64 (D.D.C.1984). To the contrary, the job qualifications were established long before any of the plaintiffs worked in the Department, and further, we note that before Dupre, the manager's position was held by a woman--Terri Shiels--from the creation of the Department in 1976 until her death in 1984. In sum, the record is devoid of any direct or circumstantial evidence that could show that a retaliatory motive underlay Dupre's promotion to manager. 46 Because we find that defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the Title VII and HRL retaliation claims based on Dupre's promotion to manager, there is no need to vacate the district court's decision on these matters to preserve the plaintiffs' jury trial rights under the HRL. Even though we agree that plaintiffs were entitled to a jury trial on their HRL claims, and the usual course would be to vacate the district court's judgments on both the Title VII and HRL claims arising from Dupre's promotion to manager to prevent the collateral-estoppel effect of the district judge's factual determinations from undermining the litigant's jury-trial rights, see Lytle v. Household Mfg., Inc., 494 U.S. 545, 552-53, 110 S.Ct. 1331, 1336-37, 108 L.Ed.2d 504 (1990), here there is no need to remand the retaliation and sex-discrimination Title VII and HRL claims arising from Dupre's promotion to manager since, as a matter of law, plaintiffs fail to satisfy threshold elements of their claims.