 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Muzzy v. Cahillane Motors6/27/2001
Hampshire.
April 5, 2001.
Practice, Civil, Instructions to jury, Failure to make objection. Employment, Sexual harassment. Waiver.
Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on May 28, 1997.
A motion for partial summary judgment was heard by Judd J. Carhart, J., and a claim for sexual harassment was tried before C. Brian McDonald, J.
The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred the case from the Appeals Court.
Susan Muzzy brought an action against her former employer, Cahillane Motors, Inc. (Cahillane), alleging that she was wrongfully terminated and subjected to a sexually hostile work environment in violation of G. L. c. 151B, ? 4 (16A). Partial summary judgment was granted for Cahillane on the wrongful termination claim, and the case proceeded to trial before a jury on the sexual harassment claim.
After an eight-day trial, the jury found in favor of Cahillane, and the judgment was appealed. We transferred the case to this court on our own motion to consider Muzzy's claim that the "reasonable person standard" jury instruction given by the trial judge on the sexual harassment claim was erroneous, prejudicial, and confusing.
Specifically, Muzzy, a lesbian, complains that the judge erred in instructing the jury to evaluate her sexual harassment claim from the view of an "objectively reasonable woman of lesbian orientation," and that this error caused such prejudice and confusion among the jurors that a new trial is required. While we find that the plaintiff, having agreed to the language now challenged, waived the principal objections to the instruction that she now raises on appeal, we take this occasion to provide further guidance on instructions in sexual harassment cases.
Factual background.
In brief, the facts adduced at trial are these. In August, 1995, Muzzy went to work in Cahillane's sales, finance, and insurance department. The manager of the department was Deborah Cahillane. Both the plaintiff and the manager were lesbians. Shortly after her employment began, Muzzy claimed that she became the target of a constant barrage of verbal and physical conduct of a sexual nature perpetrated by her manager, which included inappropriate physical touching, degrading sexual conversation and comments, and unwelcome invitations and advances imbued with sexual overtones. According to Muzzy's testimony, this conduct took place both during and after the working day. Eventually, after thirteen months, she felt she could no longer work at the dealership and did not return.
In contrast to the plaintiff's testimony, Deborah Cahillane testified that she and Muzzy had a brief romance outside of the workplace, and to the extent there was physical contact or verbal communication between them it was by mutual consent, never complained of, and not sexual harassment.
In the course of the trial, it was clearly and explicitly presented to the jury that both Muzzy and the manager about whom she was complaining were lesbians. Indeed, prior to trial the parties had alerted the court to this feature of the case and requested a voir dire of prospective jurors to screen out those who might harbor prejudices that would affect their ability to decide fairly a case involving such issues. Apparently, during the empanelling the judge questioned each juror individually regarding his or her attitudes and prejudices concerning homosexuals and lesbians and both parties were content with the jury as selected.
Legal framework -- sexual harassment.
General Laws c. 151B, ? 4 (16A), makes it unlawful " or any employer, personally or
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Massachusetts Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|