Case: Powell v. Georgia-Pacific Corp.

In 1973, a group of African American employees filed a lawsuit under Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, against Georgia Pacific Corporation in the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. The Plaintiffs claimed that they were discriminated against on the basis of their race in hiring and other employment decision at Defendant's facilities in Crossett, Arkansas. The docket for this case is not available.

On October 23, 1980, the Court (Judge Oren Harris) held that (1) the evidence established that there had been discrimination on the basis of race at the commencement of the employer's initial operations; (2) evidence did not establish that certain practices, which came within the "disparate impact" rule, were necessary to safe and efficient operation of the plants; (3) affirmative action would be directed toward recruiting from outside or from qualifying from present employees; (4) evidence established there had been racial discrimination in selection and promotion of supervisors. Powell v. Georgia Pacific Corp., 535 F. Supp. 713 (W.D. Ark. 1980). The Court further held that: the class would consist of all black persons employed on or after three years prior to the filing of the suit; ordering that back pay awards commence a full two years before the first EEOC charge would be justified; and a class-wide approach would be appropriate in determining remedies for each subclass.

Plaintiffs filed a motion for the distribution of residual settlement funds. On January 31, 1994, the Court (Judge H. Franklin Waters) held that the most appropriate and equitable disposition of those funds was to distribute the funds to Defendant for the purpose of establishing a scholarship fund for local African American high school students. Powell v. Georgia Pacific Corp., 843 F. Supp. 491. (W.D. Ark. 1994).

Plaintiffs appealed the District Court's disbursement order. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (Judge Morris Sheppard Arnold) held that the District Court's order was not final and thus that the Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal on July 19, 1996. Powell v. Georgia Pacific Corp., 90 F.3d 283 (8th Cir. 1996).

Plaintiffs appealed the District Court's final order, arguing against the scholarship fund and denial of attorneys' fees and costs. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (Judge Morris Sheppard Arnold) affirmed the District Court's disbursement order by remanded the case to award appropriate fees to Plaintiffs' counsel. Powell v. Georgia Pacific Corp., 119 F.3d 703 (8th Cir. 1997).

No further information about this litigation is available.