Boeing Wins Verdict in Employment Discrimination Lawsuit Which Originally Settled For 15 Million.
Last year Boeing paid 72.5 million to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed by a class of female employees. Yesterday, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reports that the aviation manufacturer won a victory in a separate discrimination suit filed by a class of African American workers. Boeing had originally agreed to settle this suit in 1999 for 15 million, but the settlement was subsequently thrown out by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals after a number of class members complained that the settlement was unfairly structured (pointing, in part, to the amount of attorneys fees incorporated into the award).
Now, two years later, a jury sitting in the U.S. District Court in Seattle has rejected the class’s discrimination claim altogether. While the district judge must still rule on the “disparate impact” portion of the lawsuit, this partial verdict in favor of Boeing underscores the calculated risk that parties must consider when weighing a proposed settlement against a potential jury award (or, as here, non-award).