Local Lawsuit: Roberts V. Texaco Summary

1176 Words5 Pages
Local Lawsuit: Roberts vs. Texaco Abdulrahman Al-emadi Business Law Professor Demko 7/27/2012 hamani-a@hotmail.com WHAT IS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT According to S.W. Feldman’s Government Contract Guidebook 2010 – 2011, a class action lawsuit is a form of litigation in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued (Feldman, 2010). And it so happens in that class action lawsuits became a prevalent throughout the 1990s because it offered a way of empowering individuals with small claims to have their day in court (West’s Encyclopedia of American Law). Everywhere Americans, especially minorities flocked to the opportunity to assert their rights, and in 1994 a class…show more content…
However, by January of 1996, the judge had ordered the two sides back into court. The case was at a near standstill through the first half of 1996. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) had begun an investigation of the widespread claims against Texaco related to unfair labor practices. At is core the EEOC, under executive Order 11246, as amended, prohibits job discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, and requires affirmative action to ensure equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment (“Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law”). In June of 1996, the EEOC abided by these principles by releasing its report, indicating that Texaco was guilty of failing to promote African American employees and other types of discrimination. These findings by the EEOC gave the case a much-needed burst of energy. This proved to be a direct violation of the law, and this unethical treatment of African-Americans would work to be the detriment of the…show more content…
By this time, national leaders of the African American community had rallied in support of Roberts and the other plaintiffs and had begun protesting and picketing against Texaco and had also planned a nationwide boycott of Texaco products and service stations. The new Texaco chief executive officer, Peter Bijur, was under serious pressure from stockholders to settle the suit. The lawsuit was settled on November 15, 1996, for $176.1 million. This was the largest settlement in a race discrimination lawsuit in U.S. history to

More about Local Lawsuit: Roberts V. Texaco Summary

Open Document