By Melanius Alphonse
Caribbean News Now associate managing editor
[email protected]
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, USVI — The cash-starved regional airline, LIAT, has lost its appeal against a lawsuit by a former employee, when a judge of the Superior Court of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) dismissed the airline’s appeal and awarded US$1.55 million in damages to William Cherubin.
In his ruling, Justice Douglas Brady said that “the totality of the trial evidence was sufficient to permit a jury to inference that LIAT’s proffered reasons were false” when it dismissed Cherubin.
The judge also declared LIAT, which is owned by several Caribbean governments, had “discharged Cherubim because of his age and in violation of the Virgin Islands Civil Rights Act.
“The Court will deny LIAT’s renewed motion for judgement as a matter of law,” Justice Brady said in his ruling made May 13.
“Evidence of Cherubin’s emotional pain and suffering following his termination was sufficient that the Court cannot find that the jury’s verdict was seriously erroneous as against the clear weight of the evidence.
Justice Brady ruled, “Accordingly, the Court will not interfere with the jury’s award and LIAT’s motion for a new trial will be denied.” Cherubin had taken LIAT to court in February claiming he had been terminated because of his age.
Court documents revealed that June 4, 2015, without notice, the airline fired Cherubin, who was then 70 years old, citing several occurrences concerning breaches of company policy, including two alleged occurrences that transpired in 2009 and 2012.
In 2011, in exchange for voluntary resignations, the airline offered all employees over age 62 a retirement package but…
