First Million Dollar Verdict of the Year?

Maybe not, but it's the first one I have caught. The Birmingham News has the report of Friday's verdict of $3.8 million dollars in a sex discrimination claim by a former manager, Lily Ledbetter, against a unit of Goodyear Tire. She claimed that she was paid less than her male counterparts and was aided by the testimony of two female co-workers who also held the position. Although employers often feel that federal court juries are less likely to run away than state court juries, this case was in federal district court in Anniston, Alabama.

Update: I know that I have been doing this blog a long time when a MDV has run the appellate gamut all the way through the United Sates Supreme Court. Although the verdict first went away at the 11th Circuit, the string officially ended for this MDV when the Supreme Court held the claim was barred by Ledbetter's failure to file it in a timely fashion on May 29, 2007 . See Payday Blues at the Supreme Court.