News Article

Coca-Cola Employees Get Lawsuit Deadline

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

Published: December 23, 2000

ATLANTA -- About 2,000 potential members of a class-action lawsuit against Coca- Cola Co. will have until March 19 to decide whether to "opt out" of a $ 192.5 million settlement.

In a 35-page order giving preliminary approval to a settlement of the racial discrimination lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Richard Story ordered Coca- Cola to mail notices detailing the settlement to all class members by Jan. 16.

The class members, current and former African-American employees of Coca- Cola, will then have about two months to decide among three options. They can accept the settlements for compensatory damages, back pay and other damages, which are expected to total about $ 40,000 apiece on average.

Class members who think they have strong evidence that they were discriminated against in a past promotion decision can accept a partial settlement for compensatory damages, typically expected to total $ 28,000, while taking their promotion case to a U.S. magistrate judge.

The third option is to "opt out" of the settlement and pursue a case on their own.

Story, however, strongly urged members of the class-action lawsuit to weigh the risks of a separate lawsuit against the "very substantial and significant monetary benefits of this major proposed settlement.

"An individual suit could take three to five additional years to resolve, including appeals. Most individual employment discrimination suits are unsuccessful," Story stated.

"We understand that 80 percent of the cases in the Atlanta area are thrown out on summary judgment," said plaintiffs' attorney Cyrus Mehri. He called Story's preliminary approval "an important step on the road to justice at the Coca-Cola Co. "