Studio prevails in racial bias suit

A federal judge on Thursday ruled that Universal Studios wasn’t acting out of racial bias when it fired an African American assistant director of the movie “2 Fast 2 Furious.”

The decision by U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess in Los Angeles ended the first racial discrimination case brought by the federal government against a big Hollywood movie studio. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had alleged that Frank Davis was unfairly terminated in 2002.

“When the evidence is viewed in its entirety free of any preconceived notions, it simply does not support any claim that Davis’ termination was the result of anything other than poor job performance,” Feess wrote.

Davis had been hired for the crucial position by movie director John Singleton even after producers said they were concerned about his abilities, Feess wrote. More than a dozen people working on the film complained about problems with Davis, who was fired shortly after shooting began.

Davis personally reached a confidential settlement with Universal during the trial last month, leaving the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to continue on its own.

Universal President Ron Meyer said the ruling was “a complete vindication for Universal and its employees. Universal chose to try the case because we wanted to give our colleagues, who had been falsely accused of racism, the chance to tell the truth about what happened on this movie.”

If the EEOC had won, it might have led to close monitoring of Universal’s job practices.

Disputes over hiring and firing are rarely aired publicly in the industry because they often are settled quietly or because those who might complain fear they won’t be given work elsewhere.

The trial produced little evidence to back Davis’ claim of racial discrimination. Singleton testified that he was unhappy about Davis’ firing but went along with it to get the movie finished.

But other staffers complained that Davis communicated poorly, drew up inaccurate shooting schedules and seemed to have a poor grasp of the visual and mechanical effects needed on the movie.

In his 14-page ruling, Feess disagreed with the EEOC’s contention that white executives on the film were treated better, and he noted that the studio had hired Singleton, who is also African American.

As a sidelight, the case illustrated the enormously complicated role of the first assistant director.

Under guild contracts, the director has the right to hire for the position.

But the assistant must then mediate between the director and the studio and coordinate with all the major forces involved in the production.

“It’s a demanding job, and particularly on a movie like this, not many people could do it,” said David Burg, Universal’s senior vice president for litigation.

joseph.menn@latimes.com