Illustration by Mark Zingarelli

Four years after Schleich was fired, she received a ruling from the trial jury. In March 2009, a six-person jury ruled unanimously that she was not a victim of age discrimination. They did find that there was retaliation against her for filing complaints and awarded her $75,000. The city, however, appealed the jury’s verdict, and the case landed before a circuit court judge. Judges rarely second-guess juries because the collective decision is accepted as the best analysis of the evidence. But in a stunning and unusual reversal, Broward County Circuit Court Judge Jack Tuter overturned the jury’s verdict—and left Schleich with nothing.

What do you think of the verdict? Let us know in the Community Commentary below. Read the full story here.

Robin Gerber is a lawyer and the author of Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Create Her.