Since all of the events relevant to this suit occurred in 1972 or sooner, the provisions of the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. ยงยง 1001, et seq., are inapplicable. A jury verdict in appellant's favor was set aside by Judge Whitman Knapp in a decision reported at 434 F.Supp. 981. Judgment was entered for GM and a new trial ordered in the event of reversal.
A motion for a new trial may be joined with a motion for judgment as a matter of law. Rule 50(b), Fed.R.Civ.P. The Court is empowered to grant both motions, for a judgment as a matter of law and a new trial, simultaneously in the same action. See Gehrhardt v. General Motors Corporation, 434 F. Supp. 981, 986 (S.D.N.Y. 1977), aff'd, 581 F.2d 7 (2d Cir. 1978). A trial judge reviewing a jury verdict and judgment pursuant to a motion for a new trial has greater judicial discretion to grant such a motion than a motion for judgment as a matter of law. Montgomery Ward Co. v. Duncan, 311 U.S. 243, 251-52, 61 S.Ct. 189, 194, 85 L.Ed. 147 (1940); Bevevino v. M.S. Saydjari, 574 F.2d 676, 683-84 (2d Cir. 1978).