Court Opinion

ID: 9472035
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 03:47:28.067208+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:42:42.478833
License: Public Domain

MANSFIELD, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. In my view the majority erroneously assumes that the district court barred a key defense witness (Gerylomatos) from testifying that he was aware, when he discharged and paid off appellant, of the penalties imposed by the statute for failure to pay all earned wages due. As I read it the record does not support this assumption and indeed appellant has not advanced on this appeal the argument that it was error to preclude him from eliciting such testimony at trial.
The majority also establishes a new rule of law which in my view is ill-advised: that it is reversible error for a district judge to fail to advise a jury of the penal consequences imposed by 46 U.S.C. § 596, an admittedly harsh statute1 for failure to *1069pay without substantial cause wages due. In my view this rule contradicts the purpose of the statute and might unfairly prejudice and deter a jury from making a finding supported by the preponderance of the evidence that wages have been unjustifiably withheld. The proper remedy for the' statute’s harsh effects lies not in allowing the jury to be prejudiced in the performance of its traditional fact-finding duty but in a Congressional enactment.
The majority first holds that the district court erred
“in precluding the Captain from testifying that he was under very strict orders from his superiors to pay earned wages because of the very severe penalties involved and that the Captain, himself, had a personal awareness of the possible consequences of his failure to pay.” (Maj.Op. p. 1064).
Appellant, however, has not claimed any such preclusion; indeed it argues solely that the jury’s verdict was against the weight of the evidence and that the trial judge should have set the verdict aside.
Appellant’s failure to claim that there was any erroneous evidentiary ruling with respect to the testimony of Captain Gerylo-matos is not surprising. The record is clear that Gerylomatos was not prepared to testify that he was aware of the penalty provisions of 46 U.S.C. § 596, either specifically or generally, at the time when he discharged Vinieris. At one point appellant’s counsel argued, in colloquy with the court out of the jury’s presence, that Captain Gerylomatos should be allowed to testify that he had orders from the owner that the matter (paying earned wages on discharge) was “very important, that there are very severe penalties” (A. 272-73). However, the same counsel eventually conceded at the side bar that “the captain doesn’t know anything about the statute,”2 and directed his efforts toward seeking to persuade Judge Stewart to instruct the jury regarding § 596, which the court refused to do. When the Captain was eventually permitted to state out of the jury’s presence whether he had “any orders in general from the company, from your employer, about paying any seaman earned wages,” he testified:
“The Witness: We have been instructed from the owners to pay in full any wages earned to the seamen and to be very careful on this fact in order to don’t have any future problems with the crew members.
But it is not necessary event to be instructed from the owners. Me or any captain, we have to do the legal procedure. Otherwise we will be responsible before the Immigration and the law or be punished, too, if we don’t do properly this.”
*1070Judge Stewart thereupon made clear that if Gerylomatos could testify that on February 18, 1978, the date when he discharged Vinieris, Gerylomatos was aware of the penalty statute he could so testify but that he could not so testify if he learned of it later from his lawyer or from reading it in the newspapers. The court further ruled that in any event Gerylomatos would be permitted to testify that he knew it was important to pay a discharged seaman his earned wages because the law provided and required that they be paid. Said the court:
“The Court: It seems to me that if, for example, I don’t know whether this happened, but if I were a shipowner, I would be sending out at least twice a month to my captains, ‘Look, make sure these people get paid, because if we don’t pay them we are going to get hooked with enormous damages because of the statute which reads as follows, and I want you to know about the Griffin case where there was $300,000 of liability for a $6000 claim.’
Why shouldn’t a man be entitled to testify to that, if that’s the fact? Maybe I am being more cautious than I should, but it seems to me that I will permit the witness to say, if we are satisfied, that this is something that he was aware of on February 18, 1978 and didn’t become aware of obviously because his lawyer instructed him about it thereafter or didn’t become aware of it because he learned about it by reading of it in the newspapers or thereafter, but if at the time he was consciously aware of the fact that it was important to pay these people because the law provided and required that they are paid, okay, I will take that much.”
Applying this principle, Judge Stewart properly ruled that Gerylomatos could testify to the first part of the answer he had given out of the jury’s presence but not the latter half. The latter half of the answer was not relevant to the issue before the court, which was whether Gerylomatos was aware of the substance of § 596 on February 18, 1978, the date when he discharged Vinieris. The second half of the answer does not refer to § 596 but to “Immigration” and to an unidentified “law” under which he would be “responsible.” Appellant’s counsel sought to explain this answer by volunteering that the witness “has a vague idea” and might be “talking about Greek law.”3 Gerylomatos, moreover, made clear that he was unaware of the statute when he then testified before the jury only that his orders from his superiors were “to pay the seamen in full their earned wages.”
Thus there is no basis in the record for the majority’s erroneous assumption that Captain Gerylomatos was precluded from testifying that he was aware of the substance of 46 U.S.C. § 596 when he discharged Vinieris.4
The majority next holds that the district court erred in not advising the jury of the *1071penal consequences imposed by § 596 for failure without substantial cause to pay wages due. Judge Van Graafeiland first suggests that such disclosure was essential in this case to counteract the impression left with the jury by plaintiffs counsel in his summation that the issue before it was only a few days’ pay when in fact the jury’s verdict could lead to a judgment of a much larger sum after imposition of the penalty provisions by the court. Unquestionably the district court was placed in a dilemma by the penalty statute. If the penalty provisions were not disclosed to the jury there was the possibility that the jury, acting in the mistaken belief that only a small sum was involved, might have been tempted to decide that wages were unjustifiably withheld. If, on the other hand, the court disclosed to the jury the sizeable penalty that would be imposed in the event of a verdict in the plaintiff’s favor, the jury might be deterred unfairly from rendering such a verdict. We have not found any authority to the effect that the jury must be advised of the possible penal consequences under § 596 that might be imposed if the jury finds that wages were wrongfully withheld. Faced with the identical issue in a civil antitrust suit for treble damages under the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 15, the Fifth Circuit in Pollock & Riley Inc. v. Pearl Brewing Company, 498 F.2d 1240, 1242-43 (5th Cir.1974), held that it was error for the trial judge to inform the jury of the mandatory damage-tripling provision of the statute, stating:
“The primary policy supporting our decision is that underpinning the tripling provision itself. The purpose of treble damages is to deter violations and encourage private enforcement of the antitrust laws. The justifiable fear of antitrust plaintiffs is that the juries will adjust the damage award downward or find no liability, therefore thwarting Congress’s purpose, because of some notions of a windfall to the plaintiff. One court has even suggested that a jury might take the revelation of the treble damage provision as an intimation from the court to restrict the amount of damages. In sum, we agree with the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit that informing a jury would serve no useful function and its probable consequence would be harmful — an impermissible lowering of the amount of damages.
“Second, it is not for the jury to determine the amount of a judgment. Its function is to compute the amount of damages. Congress’s authorization in 15 U.S.C.A. § 15 to triple the award of damages is a matter of law to be applied by the district court without interference from the jury. The fact that the awarded amount will be tripled has no relevance in determining the amount a plaintiff was injured by the anti-trust violation.” (Footnotes omitted; emphasis in the original.)
In my view these principles apply to the present case. To hold that a jury must be advised of the penal consequences of a verdict for the plaintiff denigrates the jury’s intelligence, conscientiousness, and integrity. It is not the jury’s function to decide the penalty issue. If Congress had desired such an instruction it could have provided for it in the statute, which it did not. Nothing precludes the trial judge from emphasizing the importance of the wage-withholding issue to the jury or from even indicating generally that its verdict may have consequences going beyond the modest amount of wages at issue. But if the judge properly instructs the jury regarding the governing principles of law (as was done in this case) his failure to indicate the possibility of other consequences should not be treated as reversible error.
We have no reason to believe in the present case that the jury did not carefully follow and apply Judge Stewart’s instructions. The issue was essentially one of credibility. If the jury believed the testimony of the plaintiff and other witnesses offered by him, as appears to have been the case, the jury’s answers to the interrogatories were supported by substantial evidence and should therefore be upheld. It is true that upon disposing of appellant’s motion for a new trial Judge Stewart stat*1072ed that he would have reached a different result since he “did not believe the plaintiff” and “found the defendant’s witnesses credible.” Appellant bases its appeal almost entirely upon this statement, arguing that it placed the trial judge under a duty to grant a new trial. Yet appellant overlooks the balance of Judge Stewart’s remarks: “I think the ... jury’s verdict was justified based on their view of the credibility of the witnesses. They could have believed the plaintiff, as they obviously did.” See, e.g., Bevevino v. Saydjari, 574 F.2d 676, 685 (2d Cir.1978) (“the district court was not required to grant a new trial simply because he disagreed with the jury”); Compton v. Luckenbach Overseas Corp., 425 F.2d 1130, 1132 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 916, 91 S.Ct. 175, 27 L.Ed.2d 155 (1970) (even though the district court “found defendant’s evidence ‘overwhelming’ ” he was not required to set the verdict aside); 6A Moore’s Federal Practice If 59.-08[5] (1983) (the trial judge should “abstain from interfering with the verdict unless it is quite clear that the jury has reached a seriously erroneous result”). In short, the trial judge merely stated how he would have voted as a juror but recognized that his function as a judge precluded his setting aside the jury’s verdict. Compton v. Luckenbach Overseas Corp., 425 F.2d at 1132-33.
None of the authorities cited by the majority support the view that a trial judge has a duty to instruct the jury concerning the penalty provisions of § 596 and that his failure to do so is reversible error. Bordo-naro Bros. Theatres Inc. v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., 203 F.2d 676 (2d Cir.1953), relied on by the majority, merely held that a trial judge’s mention of treble damages in a civil antitrust suit is not reversible error since the damages were pleaded in the complaint. It did not hold that it is error for the judge to refuse to advise the jury of penal consequences, which is the issue in this case. Similarly, although at least one circuit permits instructions informing a jury directly or indirectly of the legal effect of its special verdicts in response to F.R. Civ.P. 49(a) interrogatories, Lowery v. Clouse, 348 F.2d 252, 261 (8th Cir.1965), none hold that the trial judge is required to do so. Indeed the majority view, including that expressed by this court, is that it is prejudicial error for the court to inform the jury of the effect of its answers. See, e.g., Ratigan v. New York Central Railroad Co., 291 F.2d 548, 554 (2d Cir.1961) (it is “improper ... to submit questions containing the conclusions of law to be drawn from the findings of fact”); Thedorf v. Lipsey, 237 F.2d 190, 193 (7th Cir.1956) (court correctly refused to advise the jury as to the legal effect of a finding of fact); Cate v. Good Bros., Inc., 181 F.2d 146, 149 (3d Cir.1950) (court correctly withheld information concerning legal principles from the jury); Note, Informing the Jury of the Effect of Its Answers to Special Verdict Questions — The Minnesota Experience, 58 Minn.L.Rev. 903, 911 (1974) (“Both federal and state courts have generally adopted the ... view ... that for the court to inform the jury of the effect of its answers is prejudicial error requiring a new trial.”) The latter view is favored as insulating the jury, whose duty is solely that of fact-finding, from possible prejudice in the exercise of that function by knowledge of the legal consequences of its findings. For present purposes, however, the important point is that until the present decision no court has ever suggested that a trial court’s failure to advise the jury of the effect of its factual answers constitutes reversible error.
It is therefore my view that the majority’s holding that it is reversible error not to instruct the jury on the legal consequences of its findings of fact is inconsistent with precedents both in this circuit and in other circuits. Accordingly, I dissent.

. Unquestionably the penalty imposed by the statute can be Draconian, as the Supreme Court recognized in Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors, Inc., 458 U.S. 564, 102 S.Ct. 3245, 73 L.Ed.2d 973 (1982), where it upheld a double-wages penalty of $302,790.40 for a vessel operator’s wrongful refusal to pay a seaman $412.50 in wages due him. However, when Congress mandates such a heavy penalty as a deterrent we are not at liberty to devise methods of circumventing its *1069intent, which was "to strengthen the deterrent effect of the statute by removing the court's latitude in assessing the wage penalty.” Id. at 574, 102 S.Ct. at 3252. In Griffin the Supreme Court applied the plain language of the statute to preclude any judicial limitation on the penalty period.

. The majority has overlooked this portion of the trial record, which reads as follows:
"Q Did Captain Bairaktaris, Captain Mike, speak to you about signing Vinieris off?
A Yes, he told me—
Mr. Cherney [Counsel for plaintiff]: Excuse me, I would like a conference, if your Honor please, a side bar conference, now.
(At the side bar)
Mr. Cherney: This may relate to what we were discussing inside before. If Mr. Maho-ney [counsel for defendant] ■ intends to elicit from this witness testimony to the effect — be very careful with wages because of very dire consequences and all that effect, I would be very severely prejudiced.
The Court: I thought you told me that the captain doesn’t know anything about the statute.
Mr. Mahoney: He doesn’t.
The Court: So you are not going to go into that, are you?
Mr. Mahoney: His statement to me was that he received orders, not only in this case but generally, that it is very important to pay earned wages.
The Court: That’s all right.
Mr. Mahoney: I don’t see anything wrong with that.
Mr. Cherney: Very important to pay earned wages and stop right there, fine. I still note my objection for the record." (Emphasis supplied).

. Here again the majority overlooks a pertinent portion of the court's colloquy with appellant’s counsel:
Mr. Ciierney: He knew it had to be paid because the law requires it to be paid, that is almost redundant. It is the law of every civilized country that people who work should be paid.
The Court: The thing we are going to be adding here is that there is a law that requires this and that therefore it is important that he was instructed that wages be paid.
That is about what he is going to say, I take it.
Mr. Mahonf.y: Yes. He told me, ‘You know we were always told, not only by this company, that you have got to pay earned wages.’ He has a vague idea. He doesn’t know anything about — I think he is talking about Greek law. He said, "We were told it is very important. I know it is important. ’
The Court: He can say that." (Emphasis supplied).

. There is no suggestion that Captain Balaktiaris would have testified that he was aware of the substance of § 596 when he participated in the discharge of Vinieris. Appellant’s counsel never sought to elicit any testimony from Balaktiaris on the subject, nor even that Balaktiaris would confirm Vinieris' testimony that his employer had ordered them to pay in full all wages earned by a seaman at the time of discharge. Nor did Balaktiaris volunteer any such information.