Wells v. Key Communications, L.L.C., 703 S.E.2d 518

Appellant Mary J. Wells sued West Virginia Wireless for age discrimination after her 2004 termination from the Administrative Manager position.
In 2003, the company reduced its workforce and Wells was selected for termination while Alfred Nelson, a field technician, was also terminated due to financial pressures.
Linda Martin was the primary decision-maker who recommended eliminating the Administrative Manager position; Dennis Bloss supervised Wells at termination.
Nelson, who was in a different department, also alleged age discrimination; his claim was settled prior to trial.
Prior to trial, the defense moved in limine to exclude Nelson’s termination and age-discrimination evidence; the circuit court limited and ultimately excluded such evidence as irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial.
At trial, Wells could present evidence about the administrative/sales side and the decision-makers, but Nelson’s termination evidence was excluded; the jury found for West Virginia Wireless, and Wells’ Motion for New Trial was denied on September 24, 2009; the appeal followed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of Nelson evidence under McKenzie	Wells: Nelson’s discrimination and termination are admissible as similar incidents.	West Virginia Wireless: Nelson’s incident is dissimilar and not probative.	Exclusion upheld; Nelson evidence too dissimilar to Wells’ claim.
Relevance given different departments/supervisors	Nelson’s termination is probative to show discriminatory motive.	Different department and supervisors make Nelson’s case irrelevant.	No abuse of discretion; evidence properly excluded as not reasonably probative.
Standard of review for evidentiary and new-trial rulings	Trial court should admit broader evidence to prove discriminatory motive.	Rulings were within the court’s discretion under Rule 401-403 and abuse-of-discretion standard.	Rulings affirmed; trial court did not abuse its discretion.

McKenzie v. Carroll International Corp., 216 W.Va. 686 (2004) (non-litigant witnesses may testify about discrimination if relevant, with limitations)
Williams v. Charleston Area Med. Ctr., 215 W.Va. 15 (2003) (abuse of discretion standard for new-trial rulings; deferential review)
State v. Dillon, 191 W.Va. 648 (1994) (trial court evidentiary rulings lie within discretion; standard of review)
Reynolds v. City Hosp., Inc., 207 W.Va. 101 (2000) (evidentiary rulings reviewed for abuse of discretion; relevance considerations)
Covington v. Smith, 213 W.Va. 309 (2003) (abuse of discretion standard; reasonableness of discretionary decisions)