552
Opinion of Stevens, J.
"sham" selection procedure in an attempt to conceal their misconduct.
There is no claim that respondent's decisionmakers violated any company policy; that they were not acting within the scope of their employment; or that respondent has ever disavowed their conduct. Neither respondent nor its two decisionmakers claimed at trial any ignorance of Title VII's requirements, nor did either offer any "good-faith" reason for believing that being a man was a legitimate requirement for the job. Rather, at trial respondent resorted to false, pre-textual explanations for its refusal to promote petitioner.
The record, in sum, contains evidence from which a jury might find that respondent acted with reckless indifference to petitioner's federally protected rights. It follows, in my judgment, that the three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals correctly decided to remand the case to the District Court for a trial on punitive damages. See 108 F. 3d 1431, 1440 (CADC 1997). To the extent that the Court's opinion fails to direct that disposition, I respectfully dissent.
II
In Part II-B of its opinion, the Court discusses the question whether "[t]he plaintiff must impute liability for punitive damages to respondent" under "agency principles." Ante, at 539. That is a question that neither of the parties has ever addressed in this litigation and that respondent, at least, has expressly disavowed. When prodded at oral argument, counsel for respondent twice stood firm on this point. "[W]e all agree," he twice repeated, "that that precise issue is not before the Court" Tr. of Oral Arg. 49. Nor did any of the 11 judges in the Court of Appeals believe that it was applicable to the dispute at hand—presumably because promotion decisions are quintessential "company acts," see 139 F. 3d 958, 968 (CADC 1998), and because the two executives who made this promotion decision were the executive direc-
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