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The jury could not agree on how much to set punitive damages, so the total outcome is yet to be determined.
However, actual damages were set at $138,000 for back pay and benefits, and at $250,000 for pain and suffering.
While the jury agreed Mathis of Oxford should get punitive damages, “we can’t decide unanimously on the amount,” its foreperson told the court Friday.
Late Monday, the court’s docket showed a Nov. 22 “mediation” set with Magistrate Judge David Sanders.
Mathis sued the association on July 10, 2009, after working there six years.
Throughout time, he claimed he was “subjected to racial taunts and slurs.” In June 2008, he said he was arrested after his ex-girlfriend filed false charges against him.
For not reporting the arrest, he was fired. He claimed the power association fired black employees “for no reason” but tolerated much worse conduct by white employees.
The Oxford-based utility denied the allegations.
Mathis was represented by Wade & Associates of Tupelo and William Trusty of Batesville. Oxford attorneys Larry Little and Tara Beth Scruggs represented the utility with Dion J. Shanley of Florida.
patsy.brumfield@journalinc.com