Business & Tech

Former Frankfort Car Salesman Suing Dealership For Alleged Racial Harassment

A former employee of Currie Motors Frankfort claims he was racially harassed by his colleagues.

A former salesman from Currie Motors Frankfort claims he was subjected to repeated racial slurs and is suing the car dealership over the alleged harassment.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the former employee, James Maxey, in Will County Court Tuesday.

Reached by telephone, Maxey said he wanted to confer with his attorney, Scott Fanning of Chicago, before commenting. Fanning did not return a call for comment.

Currie Motors attorney Matt Creen also declined to comment, noting that he had yet to see the lawsuit.

The suit describes Maxey as an African-American man and says other Currie Motors employees bombarded him with racial insults, including various forms of the N word.

One employee referred to Maxey as his "favorite black ghetto friend," made reference to malt liquor and called him his "ghetto brother from another mother."

Another employee, the suit said, told Maxey "the following joke: 'Why are black people getting weaker? Because TVs are getting lighter.'"

Yet another employee offered Maxey a piece of watermelon, the lawsuit said, and when he declined, another employee told him, "All black people like watermelon."

The alleged abuse left Maxey suffering from "depression, extreme mental anguish, outrage, severe anxiety about his future and his ability to support himself, harm to his employability and earning capacity, shameful embarrassment among his friends, colleagues and coworkers, damage to his reputation, disruption of his personal life, and loss of enjoyment of the ordinary pleasures of life," the lawsuit said.

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