An astronomical $137 million jury verdict against Tesla has again been reduced, for a second (and potentially final) time. Last Monday, following a five-day trial on damages, a federal court jury awarded Owen Diaz, a former Tesla elevator operator, $175,000 in emotional distress damages and $3 million in punitive damages, totaling nearly $3.2 million'almost $134 million shy of the award he originally obtained in 2021.
We covered the original verdict in Diaz v. Tesla, No. 3:17-cv-06748-WHO (N.D. Cal. 2021) here, in which a San Francisco jury awarded Diaz $130 million in punitive damages and $6.9 million in emotional distress damages for racial harassment he suffered at a Tesla factory in Fremont, California. Almost a year ago (reported here), the federal judge in the case ruled that the jury's verdict was excessive and gave Diaz a choice: Either accept a reduced award of $15 million in damages, or...
