COMPANY TOWN ANNEX

Discrimination Awards Against ABC Rejected: A federal appeals court set aside an order that required ABC Inc. to pay more than $300,000 to a current and a former employee in a lawsuit charging race and sex discrimination. A federal judge used the wrong legal standard in entering a default judgment against ABC on grounds of misconduct, said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In 1994, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth awarded $125,000 plus attorneys’ fees to Michele Shepherd, a black woman who is a staff artist at ABC News. LaRue Graves, a black man who was fired from his job as a Washington bureau artist, was awarded $184,293 plus attorneys’ fees. Shepherd’s and Graves’ lawyer did not return a call; an ABC attorney declined to comment.