Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff

A federal judge, while agreeing with a jury that found "a significant degree of reprehensible conduct" by General Electric Co., has cut a nearly $12 million award to an engineer in a job discrimination lawsuit.

In his 32-page decision, Senior U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton cut $5 million from the award to Hemant K. Mody of Avon.

Mody never saw any of the 2006 jury award; he died in April. Shortly after that his wife died. Any money would go to the couple's two teenage children.

"It's hard to say you're happy when a judge eliminated $5 million from a jury verdict, but I am happy with it," said Scott Lucas, one of Mody's lawyers.

The U.S. District Court jury awarded Mody $591,423 in back pay and $500,000 in compensatory damages. Jurors then added $10 million in punitive damages against Fairfield-based GE.

Mody worked in General Electric's Plainville facility. He invented products and received eight patents.

Mody accused GE of discriminating against him in terms of promotions, job assignments and benefits.

Once he complained of the discrimination, he charged GE treated him unfairly, assigning him to menial tasks. He also was told that he was absent too often, a condition due to kidney failure, which required him to undergo dialysis daily.

Mody sued GE for age and racial discrimination, retaliation, infliction of emotional distress and other violations of state and federal law.