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Blume v. Denville Township Board of Education7/31/2000
NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
Argued January 20, 2000
On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Morris County.
After having worked since 1967 primarily as a classroom teacher in the public schools, plaintiff Betsy Blume was hired by defendant Denville Township Board of Education to fill its newly created position of Vice-Principal for Instruction and Curriculum. She was initially hired under a one-year contract for the 1992-1993 school year. Her employment contract was renewed for the 1993-1994 school year. Formal written evaluations of Ms. Blume's performance were prepared primarily by defendant Sandra Dohrenwend, the Denville Superintendent of Schools. After the Board had considered those evaluations and Ms. Dohrenwend's "qualified" recommendation to renew Ms. Blume's contract for one more year, the school board voted unanimously in April 1994 not to renew.
The recommendation that Ms. Dohrenwend communicated to the Board of Education prior to its April 1994 vote was "qualified" by comments about Ms. Blume's shortcomings. Ms. Blume alleges that this "qualified" recommendation was a signal to the Board not to continue her employment.
Ms. Blume sued the Denville Township Board of Education and Ms. Dohrenwend for compensatory and punitive damages. Ms. Blume alleges that the Board's decision not to continue her employment violated New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49, because it was induced by Ms. Dohrenwend's prejudice against her because she is Jewish and because, during her second year of employment, she suffered from a recurrence of breast cancer which required her to undergo a second mastectomy. She also argues that the non-renewal of her contract is illegal because the decision was taken by the Board of Education in retaliation for her complaint to the Board that the negative evaluations which she received from Ms. Dohrenwend were motivated by anti-semitism and by the fact that she had a recurrence of cancer.
The case was tried to a jury. At the close of the entire case, the trial judge dismissed the claim of retaliation and declined to submit the issue of punitive damages to the jury, but he reserved judgment on defendants' motion for the entry of judgment in their favor as a matter of law. The jury found that "Sandra Dohrenwend . . . discriminate against plaintiff because of religion and/or handicap," and it awarded Ms. Blume $380,000 in compensatory damages.
Defendants then renewed the motion they had previously made for the entry of judgment, and they moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, alternatively, for a new trial on the ground that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence. Plaintiff moved for entry of judgment in accordance with the jury verdict, for attorneys' fees and interest, and for a new trial solely on the issue of punitive damages. The court granted defendants' motions for judgment in their favor pursuant to R. 4:40-1 and -2, and it denied plaintiff's motion.
The court's oral decision on defendants' motions did not deal with their alternative motion for a new trial. The written order which the court entered in accordance with its oral decision granted defendants' motions for judgment pursuant to R. 4:40-1 and -2, but the court struck out of the proposed form of order the provision which would have granted defendants' alternative motion for a new trial.
Plaintiff appealed from the judgment in defendants' favor. After plaintiff had filed her notice of appeal, defendants moved before the trial court to settle the form of order. The trial court granted that motion and entere
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