Tesla Denied Retrial Over Black Worker’s Racism Verdict
- Owen Diaz originally awarded $137 million by California jury
- Diaz claimed Tesla turned a blind eye to racism at factory
Tesla factory in Fremont, California.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Tesla Inc. was denied new trial in a suit by a Black former contract worker who was awarded $137 million by a jury that found he faced racist abuse at the electric vehicle maker’s northern California factory.
US District Judge William Orrick on Wednesday denied Tesla’s request for a new trial over both liability and damages in the case brought by Owen Diaz. The judge slashed that award to $15 million in April, but Diaz refused the reduced amount. His lawyers then sought a new trial just over damages, which has been set for March 27, 2023.