In Beran v. VSL North Platte Court LLC, No. 7:21CV5003, 2023 WL 6880146 (D.Neb. Oct. 18, 2023), the court, inter alia, upheld a jury verdict finding in plaintiff’s favor on her hostile work environment sexual harassment claim asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In finding that the evidence of a hostile work environment was sufficient, the court explained:
The evidence suggests that Beran was subjected not just to offensive utterances, but to physically threatening conduct. The physically threatening conduct included Eugene groping Beran’s “butt” in the galley area; pushing Beran up against a wall while groping her breasts with both hands; grabbing her hand and refusing to let go despite repeated requests; and elbowing Beran in the chest when she attempted to enter the kitchen galley. The Court reiterates its prior conclusion that “the evidence that Eugene shoved Beran against a wall and groped her breasts was a single incident of sufficient seriousness to submit the case to a jury.” The Court now adds, evidence of that incident was sufficient to deny Linden Court’s Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law. [Citations omitted.]
The court concluded that “[e]ven relying on the Court’s own reading of the evidence, there is no basis for a new trial, because the jury’s finding of severe or pervasive harassment is not against the great weight of the evidence, so as to constitute a miscarriage of justice.” [Citation omitted.]