Jury awards $10M to executive who says he was fired because he’s a white man

David Duvall's lawsuit accused Novant Health of firing him in order to diversify the upper levels of leadership.

David Duvall, a former top executive at North Carolina-based Novant Health, was awarded US$10 million on Tuesday by a federal jury after he filed a lawsuit claiming he lost his job because he’s a white man.

In 2013, Duvall was appointed the senior vice president of marketing and communications at the nonprofit health company, but was abruptly fired in 2018, reads his 2019 complaint.

His lawsuit accused the company of firing him in order to diversify the upper levels of leadership. The jury said Novant Health failed to prove that it would have dismissed Duvall, regardless of his race.

Novant Health has repeatedly denied that Duvall was fired because of his race or gender, and that he was let go for reasons other than those presented at the civil jury trial.

The company released a statement following the jury’s decision:

“We are extremely disappointed with the verdict as we believe it is not supported by the evidence presented at trial, which includes our reason for Mr. Duvall’s termination. We will pursue all legal options, including appeal, over the next several weeks and months.

Novant Health is one of thousands of organizations to put in place robust diversity and inclusion programs, which we believe can co-exist alongside strong non-discriminatory policies that extend to all races and genders, including white men. It’s important for all current and future team members to know that this verdict will not change Novant Health’s steadfast commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity for all.”

Duvall said in his lawsuit that he was fired shortly before his fifth anniversary with the company. He said he was replaced by two women, one Black and one white.