MOVIE GALLERY LAWSUIT

Just last week, they announced record earnings, and now executives with Dothan based Movie Gallery are faced with a bit of trouble as their company has been slapped with more than a 75 million dollar federal lawsuit, charging discrimination and distribution of pornography. Allegations claim the company failed to hire, train, and promote African Americans. The lawsuit, filed in Montgomery, alledges that in July of 2003, the Regional Asset Manager for the Southern Division...an African American employee, wrote the C. E. O. a letter outlining racial disparities. The eight page complaint asserts that all top level executives and supervisors are white...that`s about 100 positions. The complaint also alledges that Movie Gallery has been disseminating pornography across the U. S. and Canada. News 18 received a statement from Movie Gallery yesterday, saying (quote), "Movie Gallaery does not tolerate unlawful discrimination of any kind...this is nothing more than a frivolous lawsuit filed by an employee who was terminated for cause. The plaintiff in this case was terminated for inappropriate conduct in violation of Movie Gallery`s sexual and other unlawful harassment policy." (end quote)