U.S. court revives retailiation suit against Wyeth

* Jury had ruled for Wyeth

* Trial judge instructed jury improperly on retaliation

* Plaintiff looks forward to new trial

(Adds Pfizer comment, paragraph 5)

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal appeals court revived a retaliation lawsuit against Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc by a black former chemist and engineer, while dismissing his claims of racial bias.

The decision issued Wednesday by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals entitles the plaintiff, Howard Henry, to a new trial against Wyeth, which was bought last October by Pfizer Inc.

Henry is one of several workers who sued Wyeth over alleged discrimination against black employees at the drugmaker's campus in Pearl River, New York. He left the company in 2005.

"Mr. Henry is absolutely thrilled," his lawyer Steven Morelli said in an interview. "Any light he can bask on Wyeth in terms of how they treat minority employees is welcomed by him. He can't wait to get back to trial."

Pfizer spokesman Chris Loder said the New York-based company was pleased the jury verdict on the discrimination claim was upheld, "and we are confident that Mr. Henry was not retaliated against in the case."

Henry had accused Wyeth of denying him at least three promotions and giving him unfair performance reviews.

He said that after he began complaining, Wyeth piled on extra work, faulted his pre-approved absences and put him on a "performance improvement plan," all to "develop a paper trail" in hopes of preventing his advancement.

A White Plains, New York, jury in February 2008 ruled in Wyeth's favor.

But Circuit Judge Pierre Leval wrote for the appeals court that the trial judge erred in instructing the jury that Henry needed to show the person who imposed the alleged retaliation did so knowing that Henry filed a discrimination complaint.

"Henry's evidence of retaliation, while not overwhelming, was sufficiently strong that a jury could have returned a verdict in his favor, if properly instructed," Leval wrote.

The Second Circuit upheld the dismissal of the bias claims, saying that any error the district court may have made in addressing them was harmless.

The case is Henry v. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc et al, U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 08-1477. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; editing by John Wallace and Maureen Bavdek)