A federal jury has granted former Tesla worker Owen Diaz $3.2M in damages in his racial discrimination case, although this quantity is much decrease than he was initially awarded.
Tesla Was Initially Ordered To Pay $137M
AP News stories that Diaz—who’s Black—filed a lawsuit towards the corporate again in 2017. The 53-year-old alleged that he was subjected to racial abuse every day throughout his nine-month stint on the Tesla manufacturing unit in Fremont, California.
RELATED: California Employment Agency Sues Tesla For Alleged Racial Discrimination & Harassment In Its Bay Area Factory: ‘Tesla’s Fremont Factory Is A Racially Segregated Workplace’
Four years later, Tesla was ordered to pay Diaz practically $137M, as The Shade Room beforehand reported.
After about six months, although, U.S. District Judge William Orrick drastically decreased this award to $15M after Tesla appealed the choice.
Rather than accepting this quantity, Diaz and his lawyer—Lawrence Organ—sought a brand new trial. However, upon the jury reaching a verdict earlier this week, he wound up incomes a good lesser award: $3.2M.
While that is far lower than the preliminary $137M ruling, Organ notes that the quantity is “still a big win.”
“If you had just looked at this verdict without knowing the verdict in the first trial, you would say this is a big win. So, it’s still a big win.”
Diaz’s Attorney Is Challenging The Decision
Even along with his optimism, Organ’s within the strategy of making an attempt to safe one other trial.
The lawyer instructed AP News that he filed a movement for a mistrial earlier than the $3.2M choice got here by means of, as he accused Tesla’s authorized workforce of prejudicing the jury by improperly casting doubt on Diaz’s character.
Organ says he’ll enchantment the newest verdict if his movement for a mistrial is rejected. He additionally notes that he plans to query why the preliminary $137M award has been so drastically decreased.