Francine Katz wants new trial in gender discrimination suit against Anheuser-Busch

Who would have thought that Ms Katz would file for a new trial? Only in May 2014, after three weeks of testimony and ten hours of deliberation, the majority of jurors had sided with Anheuser-Busch, thus throwing out Ms Katz’ gender discrimination suit against the brewer.

But in early July 2014 it was reported by St. Louis media that Ms Katz has filed for a new trial.

In her motion for a new trial, Ms Katz's attorney wrote: “This was a close case. The jury heard volumes of testimony and viewed a mass of exhibits during the course of a trial that lasted three weeks. It deliberated for the better part of two days, submitted numerous questions to the court, and ultimately returned a verdict in favour of defendant by a vote of 9 to 3 — the bare minimum required for a verdict. Given the closeness of the case, any legal errors that occurred in the way the case was presented to the jury could have decisively influenced its outcome."

In support of her motion, Ms Katz said that there were three legal errors that call for a new trial.

Whatever Ms Katz’s motivations for pushing for a new trial – whether she has personal grievances or does it all for the “sisterhood” – her case rests on the claim that Anheuser-Busch had only paid her 76 cents for every dollar the men on the company's strategy committee made. Over her career at Anheuser-Busch, that amounted to USD 14 million.