Appeals court revives race bias lawsuit thrown out over five-day late filing

He filed a charge of racial discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC notified the employer, which responded to the substance of the allegations. On June 2, 2023, Beazer received a right-to-sue notice giving him 90 days to file a federal lawsuit. That put his deadline at August 31, 2023. 

Beazer moved quickly. Within a week, he paid a $200 consultation fee to a law firm that had advised him during the EEOC process. The same firm had previously told him to come back once he had the right-to-sue letter. He returned, paid a second $200 fee, and sent over his files. 

Then the firm stopped responding. Beazer called repeatedly. No answer. With just days left before the deadline, the attorney finally got back to him and said he was too busy. He told Beazer to file on his own. 

Beazer put together a complaint and, on August 29, 2023, with two days remaining before the deadline, paid $28.75 for Priority Mail Express, the Postal Service’s fastest option. The service came with a money-back guarantee of next-day delivery. If it arrived as promised, his complaint would reach the courthouse with one day to spare. 

It never made it on time. Hurricane Idalia was moving through the southeastern United States. The storm reached Category 4 strength on August 30, made landfall near Keaton Beach, Florida, and moved inland over southern Georgia, the very region where the court sat. Heavy rains flooded roads across the area. Strong winds downed power lines, uprooted trees, and knocked down traffic lights across the southern portions of the state. The complaint did not arrive until September 2, two days past the deadline. The clerk docketed it on September 5.