Jury awards $10m to executive who claims he was fired because he is white

Jury decided the health system had infringed his rights under the Civil Rights Act

Novant Health were sued in 2018 for the firing

(Getty Images)

An executive of a health system has reportedly won $10m (£7.2m) from his former employer, which he claims fired him for being white.

Former Novant Health executive David Duvall took the four-state health state system to court in 2019 for firing him, and replacing him with two women.

As NBC News and others reported on Thursday, he alleged that he was discriminated against because he was replaced by a Black woman and a white woman in 2018.

A federal jury ruled on Tuesday that Mr Duvall had been unfairly terminated based on his race or sex, and in infringement of his civil rights under the Civil Rights Act.

It remains unclear why he was terminated by Novant Health three years ago – where he had worked since 2013.

Mr Duvall was days away from his fifth anniversary working for Novant Health and being entitled to a bigger severance that he been promised earlier, it was reported.

A spokesperson for Novant Health told NBC News that it was “extremely disappointed in the verdict” and that it “will pursue all legal options, including appeal”.

“We believe it is not supported by the evidence presented at trial, which includes our reason for Mr Duvall’s termination,” the spokesperson added.

An attorney for Mr Duvall, Luke Largess, Duvall’s attorney, added: “The message is not to abandon diversity and inclusion, it’s to do it legally”.

Novant Health are responsible for 15 hospitals and health services in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, and are believed to employ 35,000 workers workers.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.