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Universal Wins "2 Fast 2 Furious" Racial Discrimination Case
posted on Jul 17, 2007
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A Los Angeles federal judge has ruled that Frank
Davis' "weak organization and communication skills" got him fired by
Universal Pictures as first assistant director of "2 Fast 2 Furious,"
not his African-American race. The ruling was dated July 11 but made public last Thursday in the case (EEOC v. Universal Pictures, 03cv7023.) filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (EEOC).
The 14-page decision by U.S. District Court Judge Gary
Feess found that the evidence presented at trial "convincingly demonstrates
that Davis lacked the background and experience to serve" in the
position and that "his inadequate performance, and not race, motivated
Universal Pictures to replace Davis with a different FAD." IFeess
disagreed with the EEOC's contention that white executives on the film
were treated better, and he noted that the studio had hired director John Singleton,
who is also African American. This was the EEOC's first racial discrimination suit against a Hollywood movie studio.
The government filed suit against Universal after
Davis, who was hired onto "2 Fast 2 Furious" by director John Singleton,
claimed his firing was a result of racial discrimination. The EEOC claimed that Universal had fired Davis without cause, basing the
act on his race and the fact that he was allegedly held to a higher
standard than his replacement, who was white. Davis joined
the lawsuit seeking damages, but he reached a confidential settlement
with the studio a day after opening statements started in a jury trial last month.
The jury was dismissed when Davis settled, but the
EEOC continued its case before Feess, seeking to force Universal to
implement policies, procedures and programs to prevent discrimination.
"The
evidence convincingly demonstrates that Davis lacked the background and
experience" to serve as the first assistant director on the film, "and
that his inadequate performance, and not race, motivated Universal
Pictures to replace Davis with a different FAD," Feess wrote in a
summary of his ruling.
"I am extremely pleased with the court's decision today, which is
a complete vindication for Universal and its employees," In a statement, Universal president and CEO Ron Meyer
said in a statement. "Universal chose to try the case because
we wanted to give our colleagues, who had been falsely accused of
racism, the chance to tell the truth about what happened on this
movie."
EEOC attorney Anna Park said she was disappointed with
the ruling. "Nevertheless, we are pleased that charging party Frank
Davis was able to secure a significant financial settlement with
Universal Studios during the jury phase of the trial," Park said.
"Despite today's decision, we hope individuals who feel discriminated
against in Hollywood know that they can come forward to complain about
discrimination."
During the initial trial, "2 Fast 2 Furious" helmer John Singleton stated in court that he did not oppose the firing. He testified that he was unhappy about Davis' firing but went
along with it to get the movie finished.
If the EEOC had won, it might have led to close monitoring of Universal's job practices.
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