October 4th 2023.
Owen Diaz, a Black former factory worker at Tesla, lost his bid on Wednesday for a third trial in his race discrimination lawsuit against the electric carmaker. U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco rejected Diaz's claims that Tesla's lawyers had acted improperly and upheld the $3.2 million jury verdict that was awarded to Diaz in April.
The decision does not mark a victory for either side, as it staves off a lengthy third trial while also continuing to draw attention to the case. Diaz had originally claimed that he was subjected to daily racist slurs and graffiti, and that Tesla ignored his complaints. His lawyers argued that the company's legal team asked improper questions, baselessly accused a witness of lying, and made misleading statements to the jury during a five-day trial.
However, Orrick ruled that any misconduct by the lawyers had not improperly influenced the jury. In 2021, Diaz had been awarded $137 million by a different jury, but Orrick ruled that the verdict was excessive. He ordered a second trial to determine damages after Diaz turned down a lower payout of $15 million.
Orrick also barred both sides from presenting new evidence or testimony at the second trial, which took place in March. Diaz claimed that Tesla's lawyers violated that directive by questioning him and other witnesses about altercations between Diaz and other workers, which had not come up at the first trial. However, Diaz denies that these incidents took place.
Tesla has maintained that it does not tolerate discrimination and takes complaints from workers seriously. The company has also denied wrongdoing in several other lawsuits alleging employees at the Fremont plant and other factories and service centers have faced racial or sexual harassment. This includes a proposed class action by Black workers and a lawsuit by a California state agency alleging widespread race discrimination at the Fremont plant, which Tesla claims was politically motivated.
Lastly, last week Tesla was also sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which claims that since 2015 Black factory workers have routinely been subjected to racist slurs and graffiti and retaliated against for complaining about the harassment.
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