Retailer Neiman Marcus is embroiled in a federal lawsuit with competitor Saks Fifth Avenue for discrimination against African-Americans. The case stems from a lawsuit filed by a former black executive, Kurtyce Cole, who is a former manager at the Raleigh, N.C., location of Saks Fifth Avenue where he was racially harassed and discriminated against by the general manager, Mohammed Ali, a Middle-Eastern male. Saks corporate management went on to condone the behavior. Saks, looking for something to save them, ridiculously subpoenaed and trolled Cole’s medical records, even his childhood school records. Finding nothing, Saks sought help from Neiman Marcus, where Cole had worked in excellence for five years in the late 1990’s representing Giorgio Armani.
Saks persuaded Neiman Marcus to help them by submitting fraudulent documents to the court that portrayed Cole negatively. But Cole produced documentation of a Neiman Marcus official (Nina Fabian) admitting to using erroneous documents and inaccurate information to harass him and other blacks. And when Cole produced his excellent Neiman Marcus performance records, proving the Neiman Marcus documents a fraud, Saks’ defense fell apart and Neiman Marcus found itself in federal court with evidence against it for discriminating against African-Americans. Cole says he held on to the Neiman Marcus documentation over the years just for good record-keeping, and never dreamed it would prove so pivotal.
Legal analysts, however, believe the case will have to be brought before the U.S. Supreme Court for a just resolution due to major conflicts of interest with the judge in the case and other missteps by the court. William A. Webb, the judge involved with the case, and his wife Allyson K. Duncan, are both judges either on the U.S. District Court or the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals related to the case. Duncan was also the boss at the law firm representing Saks. This blatant conflict of interest has compromised the case, and the fact that the court is overlooking overwhelming evidence against both companies, has paved the way for Neiman Marcus and Saks to try to escape justice for harassing and discriminating against blacks. Cole says he hopes the change in American leadership that is so desperately wanted and needed for the U.S. will filter down to the courts, especially the lower courts which he says are clearly in a pitiful state of affairs, and given to wrongdoing and corruption.
