U. settles discrimination suit

The trial in a September 1997 discrimination lawsuit filed by a former Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania custodian ended Monday after just one day, as Penn agreed to pay the man to settle the case. But the legal dispute may not be over yet. Upon being told that a University outside attorney described the amount of the settlement as "extremely nominal," the plaintiff's lawyer said he will take legal action against Penn for disclosing terms of a confidential agreement. Kristine Grady Derewicz, the University attorney who made the remarks, could not be reached for comment last night on the statement by Alex Pierre, attorney for plaintiff Leonard James Smith. Other Penn officials could also not be reached for comment. Smith, 52, accused HUP of discrimination after he was fired in June 1995, less than three months after his picture appeared on the front page of The Daily Pennsylvanian above an article about a speech given by controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan at the Philadelphia Civic Center. In the photo, a bespectacled, bowtied Smith, dressed in a white suit, stands in the audience and holds a bill up in his right hand. Smith claimed he was harassed and eventually fired because of his race, Islamic beliefs and association with Farrakhan. The DP photograph was taped above a time clock in his workspace, the lawsuit said. The University has denied that Smith suffered any discrimination. One of the terms of the settlement stipulates that the agreement be kept confidential, both lawyers said. The settlement has not been finalized, as papers were still waiting to be signed by the plaintiff. University officials expect the papers to be signed "very shortly," Derewicz said before Pierre said he will seek legal action against Penn for her remarks. "We are in the process of negotiating the specifics of the release, though we know what the money is," she said. "We have reached an agreement and it was the way that the parties chose to settle it." Neither side would say whether Penn admitted fault and both sides refused to give other details of the settlement, including whether Smith could apply for future employment at the University or a University-owned subsidiary. Upon the settlement, U.S. District Judge William Yohn Jr. dismissed the case with prejudice on Monday, meaning that the suit cannot be refiled. "We want to avoid the possible litigation of an appeal," Derewicz said in explaining why the University settled the case. She said the evidence would have definitely been in the defense's favor. "The judge even made clear to the jury that the plaintiff was unable to prove the elements of his case," Derewicz said.