Teutscher v. Woodson

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Plaintiff filed suit against his former employer, RSA, alleging retaliatory discharge claims under both state law and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. A jury awarded him lump-sum damages on his state law claims, and the district court then entered judgment in his favor on his ERISA claim. Even though, at plaintiff's request, the jury had been instructed to include front pay in its damages award, the district court granted plaintiff additional equitable remedies consisting of reinstatement as well as front pay until reinstatement occurred. RSA appeals these equitable remedies. Given the way in which the jury was instructed and the evidence presented at trial, the court concluded that the jury’s verdict encompassed an implicit factual determination as to the entire amount of front pay to which plaintiff was entitled on account of his retaliatory discharge. Therefore, the court held that the district court’s grant of an additional front pay remedy for the same harm disregarded that determination in violation of the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. The court also held that, although the reinstatement remedy does not necessarily conflict with factual findings implicit in the jury’s verdict, it is nevertheless improper because plaintiff waived that relief when he elected to seek the duplicative front pay remedy from the jury. Accordingly, the court reversed the equitable awards. View "Teutscher v. Woodson" on Justia Law