Waffle House, plaintiffs say they have settled discrimination suit

CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE - Attorneys said Tuesday that an out-of-court settlement has been reached in a $275 million racial discrimination lawsuit that four blacks filed last year against a Waffle House franchisee. <br> <br> Both sides in the case confirmed the settlement but refused to comment on it. <br> <br> Plaintiffs&#39; attorney Curtis Rowe the third said, ``The terms reached between the parties are confidential.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The case gained national media attention when plaintiff Steve Berry videotaped himself being turned away from a Tullahoma Waffle House, about 55 miles northwest of Chattanooga, at 2:30 a.m. on February 18, 2001. <br> <br> On the videotape, Waffle House employees could be seen closing the restaurant&#39;s front door as Berry and others approach and taping a sign to the glass that read, ``Closed due to Maintenance.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Berry and the three other plaintiffs charged in their lawsuit that the Waffle House restaurant had treated blacks similarly on two previous weekends. <br> <br> The tape showed white patrons inside the restaurant, which is open 24 hours. <br> <br> The lawsuit had been set to go to trial next June before U.S. District Judge Allan Edgar. <br> <br> The franchisee, Nashville-based Southeast Waffles L.L.C., had denied that the closures were racially motivated, saying that about seven black customers were being served at the time of Berry&#39;s taping and that no one was allowed to enter irrespective of race. The company filed its own countersuit against the four plaintiffs. <br> <br> The 42-seat restaurant was temporarily locked during the times in question in order to control patrons that Southeast Waffles said were trying to enter after local bars had closed. <br> <br> Tullahoma police had suggested the restaurant close for a few hours ``in order to avert these dangerous public safety situations,&#39;&#39; according to court documents. <br> <br> Company officials said the four plaintiffs acknowledged that a pretrial investigation showed no evidence of racial bias by Southeast Waffles, an operator of 116 Waffle House restaurants in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. It is a franchisee for Norcross, Georgia-based Waffle House. <br> <br> Jim Shaub, owner of Southeast Waffles, said in a statement, ``We&#39;re very pleased with the outcome of this case. We feel vindicated and are happy to put this incident behind us.&#39;&#39;