Longest-running By The Associated Press ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. ? The longest-running lawsuit in the state's Eastern District, which claims blacks were illegally denied jobs at J. P. Stevens' tex tile mills, appears no closer to being resolved than when it was filed 19 years ago. More than 2,800 former workers and job applicants at nine plants and three offices in Roanoke Rapids have said they were victims of race, discrimination and are seeking back pay. Their attorneys say the claimants are owed $96 million. It has been 13 years since U.S. District Court Judge Franklin Dupree said the mills discriminated against blacks and 10 years since the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review that finding. Still, no claimant has received a nickel, The News and Observer of Raleigh reported Sunday. Meanwhile, West Point-Pepperell Inc. acquired J.P. Stevens & Co. last year and sold its Roanoke Rapids assets to the Bibb Co. A corporate raider subsequent ly took over West Point-Pepperell, which continues to be held responsible with Bibb for the back-pay claims. On their third set of lawyers, the corporate defen dants are fighting the suit, contending race had noth ing to do with the vast majority of the claimants' fail ures to get jobs or promotions. Dupree, a 75-year-old senior judge, no longer has to take a full caseload. He still does, however, and he still handles the Stevens case. Court officials say he suit in East not near being resolved after 19 years is the only one who knows its intricacies. In a footnote to a recent order, Dupree light-heart edly jabbed at the case's longevity. "The case has at times been whimsically referred to as the Eastern District's counterpart to the inter minable Jarndyce vs. Jamdyce of Dickens' Bleak House' fame," he wrote. But he said the case remind ed him of another judge's description of a similar suit. In this case, the judge had written, "we encounter another judicial Paleolithic museum piece." Indeed, searching through the filers is like embark ing on an archaeological dig. Legal papers in the suit take up a file cabinet and 21 boxes in the federal courthouse. Employees of the clerk's office know its docket number, 1201, by heart and call it "the case that won't go away." _= ? But the case is significant in several ways, said Richard Seymour, with the Washington-based Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, who prepared and filed the suit in October 1970. It was one of the first suits to establish the illegali ty of subjective employment decisions that affect the races differently. And it was the first of its kind in which lawyers used computers to analyze statistics and show that blacks were kept out of high-paying jobs, he said. The case, Lucy Sledge vs. J.P. Stevens & Co. Inc., was tried in 1972. Stevens had laid off Ms. Sledge, and she said white women had been hired to replace her. . ? Dupree delayed a ruling for four years, awaiting a Supreme Court decision on a similar case involving the Albemarle Paper Co. mill in Roanoke Rapids. Finally ruling in 1976, the judge absolved Stevens of intentional discrimination. But statistical evidence showed that discretionary decisions by Stevens' per sonnel officials had a disparate impact on blacks, he "The case has at times been whimsi cally referred to as the Eastern Dis trict's counterpart to the inter minable Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce of Dickens' 'Bleak House' fame." -- U.S. District Court Judge Franklin Dupree ruled. Whites were getting the mills' better-paying clerical, supervisory and skilled jobs, he found. Consequently he declared that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Stevens was liable for back-pay claims. The amount of back pay and who should receive it are still being litigated. In that regard, the case has differed from many race discrimination suits under Title VII because the attorneys simply can't reach a settlement. "The pattern in this court has generally been that once there is a finding of liability, the parties are able to work out some kind of amicable settlement about the amount of damages to be paid to class members," said J. Rich Leonard, federal court clerk for the East em District. "I can t recall another one here where they actually adjudicated the class members' claims in phase two of the class action." A ruling in February might drastically reduce the claimants in the case. In that order, Dupree said claimants could recover only for discrimination that occurred before Nov. 10, 1972, when the trial ended. That would leave 1 ,365 claims. The plaintiffs have moved to reopen the record to allege discrimination continuing through Dec. 12, 1980. Dupree has not ruled on that motion, which would restore 1,461 claims. One of those belongs to Willie Ray Pittman, a con struction worker in Weldon who applied for a job at Stevens in 1973, seeking any job, any shift at the mill. "It didn't matter what kind of job it was _ I just needed a job," Pittman, 41, said. "But they never got around to me for some reason, and during that time, I think they were hiring three or four whites to one black." He laughed when asked if he expected to get money from the suit. "No, I don't, because it's been so long," he said. "And besides, Stevens has lawyers, and they are probably going over all the records, and I'll probably be old and retired if I do get anything." Local Chamber of Commerce will sponsor export seminar A half-day seminar on inter- president of First Wachovia Cor hationaT trade, "The^Export Boom porate "Services The., arid Jeffrey ? How to Cash in on It,Tr will be T. Lawyer and Peter S. Brunstet offered from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ter, attorneys with Petree, Stock on Thursday, June 8, at the Hyatt ton & Robinson. Winston-Salem. ? The registration fee is $15 for Speakers will include Jack chamber members and $20 for Whiteley, deputy director of the non-members, payable in U.S. Department of Commerce; advance. A continental breakfast, Felicia Pine, tra<^e specialist with which is included, will be served the N.C. Department of Com- from 7:30 to 8 a.m. merce; Larry Roth, international for more information, call the trade manager for Dunn Enter- Chamber of Commerce at 725 prises; William Edwards, vice 2361. Wall honored for accomplishments Bitsy Wall has been selected personal and professional lives the Outstanding Business Associ- and the positive image she pre ate for 1989 by the Forsyth Chap- sents to working women. ^ ter of the American Business Women's Association. She is an assistant vice presi Ms. Wall was selected based dent with Wachovia Bank and upon her accomplishments in her Trust in the systems department. Tornado damage may mean dollars saved on your federal income taxes By PRESTON WHITE JR. and how to deduct these losses, Special To The Chronicle reacj Qn There is some good news! Did you wake up on May 6, 1989, to find your windows broken, your trees uprooted, your roof blown away or your car crushed by the storm? Have you spent the last several weeks clearing away debris, trying to fix it yourself, or struggling to reconcile wildly dif ferent repair estimates? Take heart, the storm damage and expenses may translate into feder al income tax deductions which will save money on your income taxes next year, if not sooner. Losses directly caused by the storm of 1989 are losses arising from a "casualty" within the meaning of Section 165 of the Internal Revenue Code. Under some circumstances, this Section of the Code allows individual tax payers to deduct casualty losses sustained to non-business or per sonal use property during the tax able year which losses are not compensated for by insurance or otherwise. To determine if, when If a casualty loss deduction is claimed for non-business property on an income tax return, you must be prepared to prove the amount of the deduction to the Internal Revenue Service. In general, you must be able to establish the fol lowing: ? The nature and date of the casualty; ? The casualty directly caused the damage to the property; ? You were either the owner of the damaged property or a per son (e.g., a lessee) contractually liable to the owner for damage to the property; ? Your adjusted basis in the property; ? The fair market value of the damaged property, both immedi ately before and immediately after casualty; ? The amount of insurance or other compensation received for the clean-up, repair and restora tion of the damaged property; Please see page Ad MICRO-COMPUTER PROGRAMMING William C. Faircloth, Consulting Contract Training, and System Design *> IBM-PC's, PS'S and COMPATIBLES dBASE, LOTUS, COBOL, BASIC, 'C' We Specialize In Economical Multl-uaer accounting system* 919-766-9718 Nationwide Service and Support 4 Conservative ;ver forgets -whose money it is. Our conservative management philosophy insures the safety of your investments. C ommitment Piedmont Federal is committed to helping you reach your goals of home ownership and financial security. Security Piedmont Federal offers you secure investments backed by Piedmont Federal's strong capital position and nationally recognized financial strength. - Stability Piedmont Federal's consistency of management over the past 86 years has helped Piedmont Federal become one of North Carolina's strongest and most stable financial institutions. Success Piedmont Federal can help you turn your plans* and goals into financial successes. SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION 770-1 00C 16 West Third Street ? P O Box 215 Winston-Salem. NC 27102 Northside Thr uway 7 70-1020 7 70- 1 050 Boone Park view Sherwood BRANCHES 70-1080 ? Parkway P ? n ^ a 7 0 1 0bO ? Ker nersville . ( ' 04 ) 1