Court upholds reverse discrimination verdict against Novant

Health system fired its white senior VP of marketing in 2018 who had 'performed exceptionally'

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Appeals court upholds $3.4M award in reverse discrimination case against Novant; white exec said he was fired amid diversity push

A federal appeals court this week upheld a $3.4M award for a former Novant Health executive who said the hospital system discriminated against him because he was a white male.

David Duvall said he was fired from his job as senior vice president of marketing and communications because of Novant’s efforts to diversify the company’s leadership.

On Tuesday, the three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected Novant’s claim that the award for lost pay was improper. But it did say that an additional $300,000 in punitive damages was unjustified.