Desert Palace, Inc. v. Costa

Costa (plaintiff), the only woman operating heavy equipment at Desert Palace's (defendant) warehouse, was fired after a physical altercation with a male coworker who received only a suspension despite no disciplinary history; Costa sued under Title VII presenting evidence of gender-based slurs and less favorable treatment, and after the jury found for her using a mixed-motives instruction, Desert Palace argued she was required to, and failed to, present direct evidence of discrimination.