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Billingsley v. BFM Liquor Management6/14/2002
ngsley requested backpay and other damages he had suffered due to defendants' actions. His petition also contained a prayer for reinstatement or front pay in lieu thereof, attorney fees, and "further relief as the Court may deem just, proper, and equitable." In his fourth amended petition, Billingsley abandoned his separate cause of action for an accounting.
On March 28, 1997, Billingsley moved to file a fifth amended petition. On April 8, the district court sustained Billingsley's motion to amend. The fifth amended petition amended the fourth amended petition by correcting the name of one of the corporate defendants and by correcting allegations relating to Billingsley's bonus agreement with BFM. Otherwise, Billingsley's fourth amended petition remained unchanged.
The fifth amended petition (petition) is the operative petition for purposes of trial and of this appeal. On May 28, 1997, defendants filed an answer in which they denied the allegations contained in Billingsley's petition and affirmatively alleged, inter alia, that due to the district court's order of August 1, 1995, dismissing three causes of action as they had been pled, Billingsley's petition was barred by res judicata and collateral estoppel.
The 4-day jury trial began on August 17, 1998. The record contains approximately 800 pages of testimony from 17 witnesses and approximately 76 exhibits. To the extent they are necessary, further facts and rulings from the trial are incorporated in our analysis below. The parties stipulated prior to trial that the district court would reserve ruling on Billingsley's request for equitable relief until after the jury determined the lawfulness of the discharge and the amount of damages, if any, Billingsley should be awarded with respect to these legal issues.
During the jury instruction conference held near the conclusion of the trial, the district court determined as a matter of law that pursuant to § 48-1002, BFM and BCI were a "common enterprise," sharing employees and employing over 25 people, and that both entities met the statutory definition of an "employer" under the age discrimination act which defines an employer as "any person having in his or her employ twenty-five or more individuals." See § 48-1002(2).
Defendants moved for a directed verdict, claiming, inter alia, that Billingsley had failed to demonstrate that his termination from employment was based on age discrimination and not some other legitimate reason. The district court denied defendants' motion for directed verdict, and the case was submitted to the jury.
On August 24, 1998, the jury found that defendants had discriminated against Billingsley because of his age and awarded him damages of $59,963.93. The jury also awarded Billingsley $4,469.88 on his claim for unpaid wages. Billingsley filed a motion seeking an order regarding equitable relief and attorney fees. The motion was scheduled for hearing on September 16.
On September 15, 1998, defendants appealed the jury award prior to the district court's having ruled on Billingsley's claims for equitable relief and attorney fees. Billingsley filed a cross-appeal. We dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Billingsley v. BFM Liquor Mgmt., 259 Neb. 992, 613 N.W.2d 478 (2000). In Billingsley, we concluded that the jury verdict was not a final, appealable order because neither the equitable relief sought by Billingsley nor the attorney fees issue had been determined by the district court.
Following our dismissal of the purported appeal, the district court held a hearing on August 24, 2000, on Billingsley's claims for equitable relief and attorney fees, as well as his request for postjudgme
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