U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco on Wednesday refused Owen Diaz's request for a third trial in his racism lawsuit against Tesla, preserving the $3.2 million verdict a jury awarded him in April. The ruling is a mixed result for the electric carmaker, as it staves off a lengthy trial but continues to draw attention to the case. The most recent complaint was filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last week, which alleged rampant racial abuse at Tesla's Fremont, California assembly plant. Diaz, a former factory worker, claimed he was exposed to daily racist slurs and graffiti and that the company disregarded his complaints. His attorneys alleged improper questioning by Tesla's lawyers, unwarranted allegations of deception, and false statements to the jury throughout the trial. However, Orrick determined that any misconduct had not influenced the jury's decision. Last May, Diaz had been awarded $137 million, but Orrick ruled that the amount was excessive. Consequently, a second trial was set up to determine damages, although the judge forbade the parties from introducing new evidence or testimony. Diaz contended that Tesla's lawyers disregarded the order by inquiring about supposed confrontations between him and other employees that were not brought up at the first trial. Tesla has asserted that it has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and that it takes employee issues seriously, while rejecting the claims from other cases involving racial and sexual harassment. The EEOC's suit stated that since 2015, African American workers have endured racial slurs, graffiti, and retribution for speaking out.
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