Court Overturns $2-Million Verdict for Former Coach at U. of Louisiana-Lafayette

A Louisiana appeals court has struck down a $2-million jury verdict in a race-discrimination lawsuit brought by a former football coach at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

The coach, Jerry Baldwin, one of the few African-American coaches in big-time college football, was fired in 2001 after three losing seasons. He sued the university, asserting he had been dismissed because of his race. In 2007 a state-court jury awarded him $2-million.

The university appealed that verdict, and on Wednesday the state’s First Circuit Court of Appeal ordered a new trial in the case. Among other problems, the appeals court said jury selection and expert testimony in the trial had been flawed.

The coach’s lawyer, G. Karl Bernard, told the Associated Press he would ask the appeals court to reconsider its decision, or appeal to the state’s Supreme Court. —Libby Sander