A black former factory employee for Tesla lost his bid on Wednesday for a 3rd trial in his race discrimination lawsuit against the electrical carmaker, after a California federal judge rejected his claims that the corporate’s lawyers had engaged in misconduct and tainted his trial.
US District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco in a written order upheld a $3.2 million verdict that a jury awarded to plaintiff Owen Diaz in April, denying his motion for a latest trial while also rejecting Tesla’s bid to chop the award in half.
The choice is a mixed result for the electrical carmaker, staving off one other lengthy trial while drawing latest attention to the case, considered one of several, probably the most recent of which was filed by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last week, to allege rampant racial harassment at Tesla’s flagship Fremont, Calif., assembly plant.
Diaz, a former elevator operator, claimed he was subjected to each day racist slurs and graffiti and that Tesla ignored his complaints.
Owen Diaz claimed he was subjected to severe racial harassment.Handout
His lawyers had argued that Tesla’s legal team had asked improper questions, baselessly accused a witness of lying and made misleading statements to the jury during a five-day trial earlier this 12 months.
Orrick on Wednesday said any misconduct by the corporate’s lawyers had not improperly influenced the jury.
Diaz was a former elevator operator at Tesla’s Fremont, Calif., factory.Getty Images
Diaz had been awarded $137 million by a distinct jury in 2021, but Orrick that 12 months ruled that the decision was excessive. The judge ordered the second trial to find out damages after Diaz turned down a lower payout of $15 million.
Tesla and lawyers for Diaz didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
Orrick barred either side from presenting latest evidence or testimony on the second trial, which took place in March.
Diaz claimed that Tesla’s lawyers violated that directive by questioning him and other witnesses about alleged altercations between Diaz and other employees, which had not come up at the primary trial. Diaz denies those incidents took place.
Tesla has said it doesn’t tolerate discrimination and takes complaints from employees seriously.
The corporate has also denied wrongdoing in several other lawsuits claiming employees on the Fremont plant and other factories and repair centers have faced racial or sexual harassment.
Those cases include a proposed class motion by black employees and a lawsuit by a California state agency alleging widespread race discrimination on the Fremont plant, which Tesla claims was politically motivated.
Last week, Tesla was also sued by the EEOC, which claims that since 2015 black factory employees have routinely been subjected to racist slurs and graffiti and retaliated against for complaining in regards to the harassment.
