Worker's compensation, Americans with Disabilities Act., alcohol.

Officials with Motion Industries, Inc., appeal a lower court's ruling in favor of a former employee. Robert Pate, an order picker and material handler, filed suit against the company, alleging he was dismissed in retaliation for filing a worker's compensation claim for a work-related back injury. Pate, an alcoholic, also claimed that the company violated provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The company asserted that Pate was dismissed because he could not perform his job. The company noted that the ADA had not been enacted at the time the incident occurred.

A circuit court jury ruled in favor of Pate. The court awarded Pate compensatory and punitive damages. Company officials later argued that Pate's attorney mislead the jury with arguments concerning the ADA. Company officials now appeal.

The company loses. The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's ruling, stating that the company did not raise objections about references to the ADA during the trial. The Supreme Court also noted that the lower jurisdiction explained aspects of the Act to the jury. Therefore, the Supreme Court reasoned, the lower court eliminated any chance that information was misrepresented to the jury.