Call it a solid week for the General’s
lawyers. Earlier today, Autoblog told you about a Chicago appeals court upholding
GM’s position on sponsoring religious groups. On the heels of this news comes a Michigan appeals court verdict
overturning a $6.2 million age discrimination judgment against the automaker.
The Michigan Court of Appeals
found unanimously that the claims of two Orion plant workers, Ellis Ross and Roger Holland, were incorrectly combined
into a single legal case. Both plaintiffs held that General Motors had passed them up for promotions because of their
age, but as they were not pursuing the same job posting (and didn’t have the same qualifications, seniority, or
positions), the appellate court’s ruling means that both cases must have separate trials.
The court also ruled
that some of the testimony offered by the plaintiff’s co-workers was prejudicial, and thus inadmissible.
[Source: Associated Press via Houston Chronicle]