Judge: White former manager can’t sue cook Paula Deen, brother for racial discrimination

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FILE - In this June 23, 2006 file photo, Uncle Bubba\'s Oyster House chef and owner Bubba Hiers, who is also Paula Deen\'s brother, grills oysters at the Savannah, Ga. restaurant. A federal judge in Georgia on Monday, Aug. 12, 2013 threw out race discrimination claims by a former Bubba\'s manager whose lawsuit against Deen and Hiers ended up causing the celebrity cook to lose a big slice of her culinary empire. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton, File)

SAVANNAH, Ga. – A federal judge in Georgia has thrown out race discrimination claims by a former Savannah restaurant manager whose lawsuit against Paula Deen ended up causing the celebrity cook to lose a big slice of her culinary empire.

Lisa Jackson sued Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, last year saying she was subjected to sexual harassment and racist attitudes during the five years she worked at their restaurant, Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House. But U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. ruled Monday that Jackson, who is white, has no standing to sue them for race discrimination.

The ruling leaves intact Jackson’s sexual harassment claims.

The Food Network and other business partners dropped Deen after she acknowledged using racial slurs in the past during questioning by Jackson’s lawyers.

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