JMOL Against Plaintiff After $2 Million Jury Award in Employment Suit Affirmed, Plus Immigration Matter

By FindLaw Staff on June 25, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Malone v. Lockheed Martin Corp., No. 09-2060, concerned a challenge to the district court's grant of defendants' motion for judgment as a matter of law, following jury's verdict in favor of the plaintiff and an award of $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages, in plaintiff's suit for employment discrimination based on race and retaliation.  Based on substantially the same reasons as the district court's, the court affirmed the grant of JMOL as the record reveals no significant evidentiary basis for the verdict.   

Diaz-Garcia v. Holder, No. 09-1681, concerned a Colombian citizen's petition for review of a decision denying his applications for asylum and related relief.  In denying the petition, the court held that the IJ's negative credibility assessment regarding petitioner's allegations that he was threatened by the FARC Guerrillas was amply supported by a specific and cogent explanation based on substantial evidence.   

As stated in 8 U.S.C. section 1101(a)(42): "The alien's credible testimony alone may suffice to carry this burden.  But the agency is not required to take such testimony at face value; it may discount or disregard the testimony if the trier reasonably deems it to be speculative or unworthy of credence.  In the absence of other compelling evidence, an adverse credibility determination can prove fatal to a claim for either asylum or withholding of removal."

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