Court Opinion

ID: 9546746
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:34:50.61899+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:16:49.400456
License: Public Domain

Munson, J.
—I dissent. As repulsive as the store clerk's statements were, it is not for this court to decide questions of fact and convert them into matters of law. I agree with everything my honored brethren state, except the last three paragraphs.
This case was tried before a jury; the rule governing directed verdicts is correctly stated. At trial, the plaintiff must establish a prima facie case; having once done so, the burden of going forward shifts to the defendant. Once the defendant has met his burden, the plaintiff is given the opportunity to show that conduct justification is mere pretext or that its genesis was created after the incident. McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 803, 36 L. Ed. 2d 668, 93 S. Ct. 1817 (1973).
There is no reason why the usual trial procedure and burdens should he different in a discrimination case than in any other case. Hollingsworth v. Washington Mut. Sav. *213Bank, 37 Wn. App. 386, 392, 681 P.2d 845, review denied, 103 Wn.2d 1007 (1984).
Here, Mr. Lewis made more than a prima facie case; Ms. Doll assumed her burden of going forward. She and a clerk testified at trial that they recognized Mr. Lewis as a person who had shoplifted in her store several days before this incident. Thus, her defense was that service had been denied, not because of Mr. Lewis' race, but because of his prior conduct. Marquez v. UW, 32 Wn. App. 302, 648 P.2d 94 (1982) (termination of law school student), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1013 (1983). The burden of persuasion as to the validity of his cause remained with Mr. Lewis; the jury found for Ms. Doll. Thus, Mr. Lewis did not carry his burden of persuasion. It makes no difference whether this court believes the defense's testimony was a pretext or postincident conjecture in justification; it is outside the scope of our judicial obligation. State v. Black, 100 Wn.2d 793, 802, 676 P.2d 963 (1984).
If there is evidence to support the decision of a trier of fact, that decision stands. Whether the defense's testimony and justification is a pretext is for a trier of fact; it is not to he decided as a matter of law nor as a factor in the mitigation of damages.
Therefore, I dissent and would affirm the judgment of the trial court based upon the jury's verdict.
Reconsideration denied March 9, 1989.
Review denied at 112 Wn.2d 1027 (1989).