‘Price is Right’ discrimination verdict tossed; new trial ordered

This post has been updated. See below for details.

Former “The Price is Right” model Brandi Cochran has lost out on a nearly $8.5-million judgment in a discrimination lawsuit after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge overturned a jury’s findings and ordered a new trial.

Cochran, one of the game show’s models, filed suit against the producers after she was denied a return spot on the show after she became pregnant in 2010. A jury agreed with her late last year and came to a 9-3 decision to order FremantleMedia North America and The Price is Right Productions to pay her the money.

However, two months later, Judge Kevin Brazile determined he had given improper instructions to the jury based on new legal findings from the State Supreme Court, and he ordered a new trial Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

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Cochran’s attorney spoke as if welcoming the retrial, telling the AP, “I think on retrial I’ll get triple or quadruple” the original award.

Brazile felt he should have told the jury to determine whether pregnancy discrimination was a substantial factor in the decision to deny Cochran her spot on the show after she gave birth.

A hearing in the retrial is scheduled for March 22.

[UPDATED, Mar. 14, 11:00 p.m.: FremantleMedia North America has released the following statement: “We are pleased that the judge vacated the improper verdict in the Cochran trial. We look forward to fully vindicating our position in this case.”]

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