SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) —
A federal judge Monday threw out race discrimination claims by a former
Savannah restaurant manager whose lawsuit against Paula Deen has
already cost the celebrity cook a valuable chunk of her culinary empire.
Lisa Jackson sued Deen and her
brother, Bubba Hiers, last year saying she suffered from sexual
harassment and racially offensive talk and employment practices that
were unfair to black workers during her five years as a manager of Uncle
Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House. Deen is co-owner of the restaurant,
which is primarily run by her brother.
But claims of race discrimination
by Jackson, who is white, were gutted in the 20-page opinion by U.S.
District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. The judge agreed with lawyers
for Deen and Hiers that Jackson has no standing to sue her former
employers for what she claims was poor treatment of black workers,
regardless of her claims that she was offended and placed under
additional stress.
Jackson, at best, "is an
accidental victim of the alleged racial discrimination," Moore said in
his ruling. "There are no allegations that defendant Hiers's racially
offensive comments were either directed toward plaintiff or made with
the intent to harass her."
The ruling lets stand Jackson's claims that Hiers sexually harassed her
when she worked at the restaurant from 2005 to 2010. However, the judge
said he was reserving the chance to rule on requests from Deen's lawyers
to dismiss other claims in the lawsuit.
Of course, Jackson's race-based claims have already resulted in serious damage to Deen's public image. It was Jackson's lawyer who questioned Deen under oath in May when she acknowledged having used racial slurs in the past. A transcript of the legal deposition became public in June, and the backlash against Deen caused the Food Network and other corporate sponsors and business partners to drop her.
Still, Deen's publicist issued an upbeat statement Monday.
"We are pleased with the court's
ruling today that Lisa Jackson's claims of race discrimination have been
dismissed," Elana Weiss said in a statement emailed to The Associated
Press. "As Ms. Deen has stated before, she is confident that those who
truly know how she lives her life know that she believes in equal
opportunity, kindness and fairness for everyone."
Jackson's attorney, Matthew
Billips, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Attorneys for Deen and Hiers also did not immediately return phone
calls.
The judge's decision comes a
month after Deen and Hiers dumped their attorneys and hired a new legal
team. But the court motions seeking dismissal for all race-based claims
in the case were filed in December, months before those changes were
made.
In her lawsuit, Jackson had
claimed Hiers frequently made jokes containing racial slurs at work and
prohibited black workers from using the restaurant's front entrance and
customer restrooms. She said she was personally offended because she had
biracial nieces.
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