A two-year court battle between Ball State University and one of its employees will continue for at least another year.
A U.S. District Court ruled in favor of Ball State in the case of Vance v. Ball State on Sept. 10.
Ball State employee Maetta Vance filed a lawsuit against the university and four of its employees Oct. 3, 2006. According to court documents, Vance said she experienced racial discrimination and harassment - including racist jokes and slur-laden altercations with co-workers - from 1999 to April 2006 while working as a catering assistant for University Banquet and Catering. She said rather than improving her work environment, Ball State punished her for reporting her co-workers, according to the documents.
Vance's lawyer, Mark Waterfill, of Indianapolis, said the court granted summary judgment in favor of Ball State, meaning that the university did not dispute some of the claims made but it was not liable for any of them.
Waterfill said he filed an appeal to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on Oct. 10.
Waterfill said the process between filing an appeal and having the case retried will take about a year.
Since the damages were intangible, he said, he couldn't estimate how much money his client hoped to receive if she wins the appeal.
Vance could not be reached for comment.
Kevin Burke, director of university communications, said he was aware Vance filed an appeal but couldn't comment on how the university would react.
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