Zakre v. Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale
Docket: Nos. 07-2347-cv(L), 08-3753-cv(XAP)
Court: Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; June 8, 2009; Federal Appellate Court
Defendant-appellant Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB) appeals an amended judgment from July 18, 2008, which awarded plaintiff-appellee back pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs after a jury trial. The plaintiff cross-appeals the reduction of the jury's punitive damages award to $600,000. The appellate court reviews evidentiary rulings under an abuse of discretion standard, granting district court judges broad latitude in determining evidence admissibility. An evidentiary error must affect a party's substantial rights to warrant a new trial, and such errors are generally deemed harmless unless they likely influenced the factfinder's judgment. Upon reviewing the trial record, the court finds no abuse of discretion in the evidentiary rulings challenged by NORD/LB and upholds the district court's decision to allow the presentation of a hostile work environment claim. The constitutional validity of punitive damages is reviewed de novo, with deference to the district court's factual findings unless clearly erroneous. A punitive damages award is not sustainable if deemed grossly excessive, based on the Supreme Court's guidelines, which include the degree of the defendant's misconduct, the disparity between the harm suffered and the punitive award, and comparisons with civil penalties in similar cases. The district court appropriately analyzed the reprehensibility of NORD/LB's actions and the disparity in damages. While Title VII does not specify civil penalties, New York City law allows penalties of up to $125,000 and $250,000 for willful or malicious acts. Consequently, the reduction of the punitive damages award to $600,000 was proper. All arguments presented by NORD/LB were considered and found to lack merit. The judgment of the district court is thus affirmed.