Appeals Court reinstates Pizza Hut verdict in trial over racial slur

ATLANTA - A federal appeals court panel has reinstated a verdict against Pizza Hut of America Incorporated, more than a year after a judge rejected a jury&#39;s finding that the company was liable for a racist slur delivered with a black family&#39;s pizza. <br> <br> The Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to federal court in Orlando, Florida, for a new trial on damages. <br> <br> In September 2000, a jury found that Pizza Hut intentionally discriminated against the family in 1998 when the slur was delivered on a receipt along with a pizza. <br> <br> The jury awarded the family one million dollars in punitive damages and $250,000 in compensatory damages. The lawsuit sought $14.2 million. It was filed by Peggy Watson on behalf of her 16-year-old, Eugenia Gray. <br> <br> Pizza Hut&#39;s attorneys argued that a shift manager at a Port St. John restaurant had acted on his own and was immediately fired by the company. <br> <br> After the jury issued its award verdict, U.S. District Judge Patricia Fawsett ruled that no reasonable jury could have found Pizza Hut responsible for the actions of a single employee. <br> <br> But a three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled Friday that the family had presented sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to rule Pizza Hut was responsible for the employee&#39;s actions. <br> <br> Pizza Hut said it has not decided whether it will appeal the court&#39;s ruling.