Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) – A Federal Judge gave Tuesday to a Black ex-electronic operator of Tesla (NASDAQ) Inc 2 weeks to make a decision about whether or not to accept $15 Million in damages for racial abuse at Tesla. That’s far lower than what a jury was willing to award at $137 million.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick of San Francisco stated that Owen Diaz did not identify any controlling issue of law which would justify an immediate appeal to the lower award. It includes $13.5 million in punitive and compensatory damages, as well as $1.5 million in compensatory damages.

Diaz claimed that his supervisor and colleagues made him feel hostile during his nine-month stint at Tesla’s Fremont factory, California, in 2015.

Last October, Diaz was awarded $6.9 Million in compensatory damages by a jury and $130,000,000 for punitive damages.

Orrick reduced them both on April 13 and rejected Tesla’s offer for a second trial.

Orrick, in Tuesday’s decision, stated that he believed the jury award was exorbitant and that an appeal would delay the case, which is now five years old.

Diaz Lawyers did not immediately reply to our requests for comment. Their immediate appeal was based on a law question concerning emotional distress damages.

According to precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court, punitive damage should typically be less than 10x compensatory damages.

Diaz v Tesla Inc et al., U.S. District Court Northern District of California No. 17-06748.