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O'Brien v. Middle East Forum

O'Brien v. Middle East Forum

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

June 22, 2022, Argued; January 5, 2023, Filed

No. 21-2646

Opinion

 [*113]  OPINION OF THE COURT

McKEE, Circuit Judge.

Marnie O'Brien appeals the District Court's order denying her motion for a new trial after a jury found in favor of her former employer on her hostile work environment claims under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.2 ] In Title VII cases where no tangible adverse employment action was taken, an employer may escape liability by raising an affirmative defense under the Supreme Court decisions in Faragher v. City of Boca Raton,3 and Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth.4 [**2]  The District Court held that O'Brien was not entitled to a jury instruction that this defense is unavailable where the harasser functions as the alter ego or proxy of the employer. Although we agree that this affirmative defense is not available in that situation, the District Court's refusal to so instruct the jury here was harmless because the jury found that O'Brien was not subjected to sexual harassment. The existence of an affirmative defense was therefore irrelevant. Accordingly, we must affirm the District Court's order denying O'Brien's motion for a new trial.

 [*114]  I. Factual Background

Marnie O'Brien worked at The Middle East Forum, a think tank, from 2016 to 2020. She served as its controller and was responsible for human resources tasks such as payroll and onboarding staff. In 2019, O'Brien brought this suit against The Middle East Forum, its President Daniel Pipes, and its Director Gregg Roman. She alleged a hostile-work environment under Title VII and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. Defendant Roman asserted a counterclaim for abuse of process.

The claims were resolved by a jury trial in which the jury returned a verdict against O'Brien on her Title VII and PHRA claims. It [**3]  also rejected Roman's abuse of process counterclaim.

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57 F.4th 110 *; 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 193 **

MARNIE O'BRIEN, Appellant v. THE MIDDLE EAST FORUM; DANIEL PIPES; and GREGG ROMAN; v. MATTHEW EBERT

Prior History:  [**1] On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. (D.C. No. 2-19-cv-06078). District Judge: Honorable John M. Gallagher.

O'Brien v. Middle E. Forum, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171743, 2021 WL 4132303 (E.D. Pa., Sept. 10, 2021)

CORE TERMS

proxy, harassment, affirmative defense, alter ego, sexual harassment, subjected, Appeals, cases, jury instructions, unavailable, employer liability, employment action, instruct a jury, tangible, imputed, proven

Labor & Employment Law, Discrimination, Actionable Discrimination, Harassment, Racial Harassment, Defenses, Sexual Harassment, Employer Liability, Harassment by Supervisors, Defenses, Antiharassment Policy, Business & Corporate Compliance, Correction & Prevention, Civil Procedure, Appeals, Standards of Review, Abuse of Discretion, De Novo Review, Jury Trials, Jury Instructions, Requests for Instructions, Business & Corporate Law, Duties & Liabilities, Unlawful Acts of Agents, Intentional & Willful Injuries, Governments, Courts, Authority to Adjudicate, Harassment by Coworkers, Judgments, Relief From Judgments, Motions for New Trials, Trials, Jury Deliberations