Securing the dismissal of 20+ employment discrimination claims brought against Morris-Shea Bridge Co.
A Challenging Lawsuit Where Settling Wasn’t an Option
Morris-Shea Bridge Co. faced a formidable legal battle when three former employees filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against the Birmingham-based deep foundation contractor. The trio of brothers brought 22 counts against Morris-Shea for claims of race and age discrimination under Title VII and Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act and a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
From the outset, it was clear the case would require a huge investment of time and resources. Not only was our client challenged with sorting through 30 years of work history for each of the men, but the plaintiffs’ attorneys engaged in aggressive, scattershot litigation tactics meant to overwhelm the client, including serving onerous discovery requests and filing a seemingly endless parade of motions.
The plaintiffs’ approach threatened to turn the case into an unnecessarily expensive lawsuit for Morris-Shea, but settling was not an option for our client, given the nature of the claims. The stakes were high, but Morris-Shea trusted Lightfoot, Franklin & White to put in the work necessary to win the dispute.
Our Approach
We knew addressing the breadth of 22 claims would take intense focus and grit. Lightfoot attorneys Glenn Waldrop, Kevin Clark, Amie Vague, and Terry McCarthy rolled up their sleeves and went to work. Whether it meant responding to voluminous discovery requests, drafting last-minute motions, or digging into the documents in painstaking detail, every member of the team stepped up to the plate to share in the workload.
At the same time, the team spent countless hours developing a compelling defense narrative based upon the actual facts and the plaintiffs’ history with Morris-Shea. Our goal was to persuasively tell the real story of the plaintiffs’ careers with Morris-Shea and how they had been treated fairly, honestly and with dignity throughout their tenure.
This teamwork, combined with Lightfoot’s measured, methodical step-by-step approach to counter the plaintiff’s scattershot strategy, yielded positive results. The court granted summary judgment on 21 of the plaintiff’s 22 claims, leaving only a single claim under the FLSA by one of the three original plaintiffs.
The Result
After summary judgment, the lone remaining claim for a violation of the FLSA alleged Morris-Shea misclassified one of the brothers as a salaried rather than hourly employee. This claim went to trial, where the Lightfoot team successfully applied their disciplined and measured approach again in the courtroom. Our attorneys presented an organized, confident, and honest defense backed by in-depth research, knowledge of the facts, and understanding of the law. And when confronted with witnesses who gave testimony that directly contradicted affidavits they signed and submitted in opposition to Morris-Shea’s summary judgment motion, the Lightfoot team didn’t miss a beat. The attorneys quickly pivoted, pointed out the glaringly inconsistent testimony, and impeached the witnesses on the stand.
After a three-day trial, the jury deliberated for two hours and reached a verdict fully in favor of Morris-Shea. Both wins were later affirmed by the 11th Circuit in Jan. 2026 following oral arguments presented by Amie Vague.
Unfocused claims, like the ones filed against Morris-Shea, undermine valid claims that the FLSA and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) were created to protect. Lightfoot’s victory in Coleman v. Morris-Shea Bridge Co. is an example of the justice system working as intended. Our lawyers saw beyond the surface of the dispute. They put the necessary effort into telling the real story of plaintiffs’ decades-long careers with Morris-Shea, building the strongest case possible and continued to take the high road and leverage their knowledge to expose the facts even when faced with plaintiffs’ contradictory testimony.
