Facts

FACTS ACCORDING TO THE PLAINTIFFS: On Oct. 20, 2001, 27 candidates took a supervisor's promotional exam for 11 open supervisor positions in the Bureau of Sanitation. On April 24, 2002, the four candidates with the highest scores were promoted. Nine of the next top 11 scoring candidates were African American, including plaintiffs Lloyd McMillian, Dwayne Allen, and Alan Bonner, who all ranked in the top seven. A Caucasian employee's application for promotion was summarily rejected by the City's Personnel Department as "unqualified for promotion." Rather than promote the next-in-line plaintiffs, Division Head Barry Berggren and Assistant Director James Langley found that the remaining candidates did not provide an appropriate candidate pool to meet the current and future employment needs of the Bureau. City Civil Service Rule 5.5 stated that a Certified List remained in effect for two years. The October 2001 list was certified through March 11, 2004. For 34 years it was the Bureau's custom to let a Certified List expire before a new list was initiated. Before the first list expired, a second examination and list were initiated and the "unqualified" Caucasian employee was ultimately promoted. The plaintiffs filed suit against the City of Los Angeles, Bureau Director Judith Wilson, Langley, Berggren, and Manager Ernest Turner for racial discrimination and retaliation.

FACTS ACCORDING TO THE DEFENDANTS: The plaintiffs were all formerly Wastewater Collection Workers II. In August 2001, the City published a bulletin for promotional opportunities for the class of Wastewater Collections Supervisor. An exam was held and the test results were released on March 12, 2002. Four promotions were made in April 2002, but none of the plaintiffs were promoted. A second exam for promotional opportunities transpired in September 2002.

PLAINTIFFS CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiffs contended that the promotional examination process to fill eleven vacancies was abruptly halted after four promotions because the next nine of 11 qualified candidates were African American. The plaintiffs contended that the City was required to use the existing Certified List to fill the next seven vacancies. Instead, the plaintiffs alleged that management revised the job description and lowered the minimum qualifications so that the Caucasian employee could qualify, when a few months earlier he was deemed unqualified to sit for the first examination. According to the plaintiffs, based upon past racial discrimination in the Bureau (and resultant lawsuit), the city management acknowledged that its actions in this matter would likely lead to further racial discrimination lawsuits. The City's response was "we'll deal with the fallout." A second test to generate a new list was administered on Sept. 7, 2002 and Berggren and Langley were appointed Special Examination Assistants, which the plaintiffs contended was done to guarantee the Caucasian employee's promotion. After the announcement of the second examination, the plaintiffs served the City with written complaints. After they received no response, the plaintiffs filed their Department of Fair Employment and Housing Complaint of Discrimination (DFEH). The City then promoted plaintiffs Bonner and Allen. After the lawsuit was filed, the City promoted McMillian. McMillian contended that after the lawsuit was initiated, the City retaliated against him by transferring him from a district, in which he was performing well as a supervisor, to a low performing district, where he had only six weeks left in his probationary period to turn around a district that had been in disarray for 10 years. After he was transferred, he filed his second DFEH complaint for retaliatory transfer. Four days before McMillian was scheduled to pass his supervisor's probationary period, he was terminated. McMillian filed his third DFEH complaint arguing that his termination was retaliation for filing his lawsuit and his two prior DFEH complaints.

DEFENDANTS CONTENTIONS:
On March 21, 2001, the Bureau made a request to the Personnel Department to administer a civil service exam for the position of Wastewater Collection Supervisor. The Bureau also requested changes to the minimum job requirements of the position, but the defendants alleged that such changes were not implemented before the bulletin was released. To correct this oversight, the Personnel Department suggested to the Bureau that it administer a second exam rather than stop the pending exam. Upon this suggestion, the Bureau made a second request for examinations. Plaintiffs Bonner and McMillian did not sit for this second exam, but their original test scores remained valid for all future promotional opportunities. All three plaintiffs were promoted within one year or less of the second exam. The defendants contended that none of the plaintiffs were discriminated due to their race.

Damages

Collectively, the plaintiffs demanded $3.5 million before trial. Bonner and Allen requested $1 million each. McMillian requested $1.5 million. The defendants offered $10,000 to settle.

Result

The jury found that race was a motivating reason for the defendants' refusal to promote Bonner, Allen, and McMillian. It also found that the defendants terminated McMillian in retaliation for his filing a complaint against the City. The jury awarded Bonner $153,413.60, Allen $203,413.60, and McMillian $1,011,744.40. The Court awarded attorney's fees of $504,926 and costs of $23,693. Total verdict and fees: $1,897,191.

Other Information

The defendants filed a notice of appeal on July 28, 2005.

Deliberation

four days

Poll

according to plaintiffs' counsel: 9-3 (racial discrimination by the defendants against all three plaintiffs); 10-2 (retaliation against McMillian); According to defense counsel: 9-3 (all issues of liability); 10-2 (damages)

Length

four weeks, one day