The case that never ends: 11th Circuit says "Boy" does not prove race discrimination
For the past 14 years, John Hithon has been pursuing his lawsuit against the chicken plant he worked at that ultimately was purchased by Tyson. He began working for the plant in 1982, and was promoted to superintendent. He applied for a shift manager position in 1995. The two shift managers, who were white, did not receive a pay increase, and quit. The plant manager did not hire Hithon or another black man, Anthony Ash, instead bringing in 2 white men from other Tyson plants. A lawsuit was filed and went to trial in 2002. The jury awarded Hithon and Ash $250,000 each in compensatory damages, and $1.5 million in punitive damages. The evidence from the plaintiffs indicated that the plant manager used the term "boy" in addressing both Hithon and Ash on at least one occasion. The magistrate judge overturned the jury's verdict, finding that there was not enough evidence for the jury to conclude that they were not promoted because they were black, and that the manager testified that in light of the plant performing poorly, he thought it would be best to bring in supervisors from outside the plant. In 2005, the 11th Circuit affirmed the decision concerning Ash, but found that Hithon should get another trial since he was not even interviewed until after the plant manager selected one of the white replacements. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which vacated the 11th Circuit's opinion and remanded it back to the 11th Circuit. The Supreme Court found that the mere use of the word "boy", standing alone, is not evidence of racial bias. "The speaker's meaning may depend on various factors including context, inflection, tone of voice, local custom and historical usage." The 11th Circuit sent the case to the District Court to retry Hithon's case. The second jury awarded Hithon $35,000 in back pay, $300,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages. The magistrate judge again set aside the punitive damages, but let the remainder of the verdict stand. The case was appealed to the 11th Circuit, and the 11th Circuit, in a 2-1 vote, directed the magistrate judge to enter a judgment for Tyson.
Practice pointer. This case is an example of what I mean when I say that justice is usually not speedy. For 14 years, this case has been litigated, there were 2 jury trials, both resulting in verdicts in excess of $1 million, 2 appeals to the 11th Circuit, one appeal to the Supreme Court and the possibility of a 2nd appeal to the Supreme Court. If I had to guess, and only guess, the legal fees incurred by Tyson were probably in excess of $1 million.
