A disappearing lawyer, a Category 4 hurricane, and a $28.75 bet on overnight mail
An employee's race discrimination lawsuit dismissed over a late filing has been revived after a federal appeals court applied equitable tolling.
On March 10, 2026, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the dismissal of Phillip Beazer's Title VII complaint against his former employer, Richmond County Constructors, a Georgia-based construction company. The court found that Beazer was entitled to equitable tolling, a doctrine that can extend filing deadlines when a person has pursued their rights diligently and extraordinary circumstances beyond their control prevented timely filing. The court ordered the case remanded for further proceedings.
Beazer alleged that starting in February 2022, he experienced a pattern of race-motivated harassment and discrimination at work. After he reported the alleged conduct, he claimed the company retaliated, giving him impossible and sometimes demeaning work assignments, engaging in other harassment, and ultimately terminating him in May 2022.
He filed a charge of racial discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC notified the employer, which responded to the substance of the allegations. On June 2, 2023, Beazer received a right-to-sue notice giving him 90 days to file a federal lawsuit. That put his deadline at August 31, 2023.
Beazer moved quickly. Within a week, he paid a $200 consultation fee to a law firm that had...
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