Opinion ID: 741743
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The District Court's Factual Findings on the Title VII Claim

Text: 66 Finally, we see no basis for reversing the district court's decision on the Title VII claim. Although Perry challenges as clearly erroneous the court's findings that there were few instances in which Perry was harassed and that such harassment as there was was not shown to be sexual in nature, those findings, even if clearly erroneous, are irrelevant in light of the court's additional finding that the company took prompt and appropriate steps in response to Perry's complaint to management. The latter finding alone required the dismissal of the Title VII claim. 67 To the extent that Perry challenges the finding that Ethan Allen took prompt and appropriate steps in response to her complaint, we reject her challenge. Assuming that the court was at liberty to make a finding on this fact that was contrary to the finding of the jury that Ethan Allen had taken such steps, but see Wade v. Orange County Sheriff's Office, 844 F.2d 951, 954 (2d Cir.1988) ([W]hen the jury has decided a factual issue, its determination has the effect of precluding the court from deciding the same fact issue in a different way.); Sorlucco v. New York City Police Department, 971 F.2d 864, 874 (2d Cir.1992) (same); LeBlanc-Sternberg v. Fletcher, 67 F.3d 412, 432 (2d Cir.1995) (in order to safeguard parties' Seventh Amendment right to trial by jury, principles of collateral estoppel prevent the judge in a joint trial from making findings of fact contrary to those of the jury), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 2546, 135 L.Ed.2d 1067 (1996), the district court's findings are in any event amply supported by the record. Ethan Allen presented evidence at trial that when Perry complained to management that she was being sexually harassed, the company took immediate responsive action by, on that very day, investigating her complaint, confronting the employees she accused, and warning them that the company would not tolerate harassment. The court's finding that Ethan Allen took prompt and appropriate corrective action in response to Perry's complaint cannot be termed clearly erroneous. 68