Tesser v. Board of Education

Jewish assistant principal Tesser (plaintiff) applied to become principal of P.S. 177 but was passed over after Superintendent Weber (defendant) declined to recommend her, citing concerns about her ability to work with the community after she complained parents opposed her on religious grounds and hired an attorney; the CSB appointed a non-Jewish candidate, Weber reassigned Tesser to her former school P.S. 128, and she alleged further discrimination there by principal Miller (defendant) before suing under Title VII and city human rights law. After a jury trial in which scheduling required Tesser to testify before the defendants, the jury found for the defendants after two hours of deliberation, and Tesser moved for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial.

Whether a plaintiff is entitled to judgment as a matter of law or a new trial if the evidence was sufficient to support the defendants, defense witnesses were credible, and any error was harmless.