Full opinion text
OPINION AND ORDER JAMES C. FOX, District Judge. I. OVERVIEW AND OPENING COMMENTARY Racism, and all its collateral effects, is a doctrine abhorrent to any modem, civilized society. “At its core, it is an act of violence — a denial of another’s right to equal dignity.” Goodman v. Lukens Steel Co., — U.S. -, 107 S.Ct. 2617, 2629, 96 L.Ed.2d 572 (1987) (Brennan, J., concurring in part, dissenting in part). Unfortunately, in the not very distant past, racism “was openly acknowledged as official policy of the United States government.” R. Klu-ger, Simple Justice 84 (1977). Laws designed to assure the inferiority of black citizens remained on the books until well into this century. Id., Johnson v. Halifax County, 594 F.Supp. 161, 164-65 (E.D.N.C.1984) citing Gingles v. Edmisten, 590 F.Supp. 345, 359-61 (E.D.N.C.1984), aff'd in part, rev’d in part, sub nom. Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30, 106 S.Ct. 2752, 92 L.Ed.2d 25 (1986). See also B.D. Adams, The Survival of Domination: Inferiorization and Everyday Life, 21-24 (1978). Indeed, discrimination as a matter of state policy continues to flourish in many parts of the world. Fortunately, the policy of the United States government has changed. Notwithstanding that fact, however, significant effects and results of the previous policy linger. Prior state-condoned racism encouraged similar attitudes among our citizens which have persisted long after state policy has been reversed. Snell v. Suffolk County, 611 F.Supp. 521, 530-31 (E.D.N.Y.1985), aff'd, 782 F.2d 1094 (2d Cir.1986). Many claims of discrimination today deal with systemic, subtle and stereotypical practices which developed when overt discrimination was lawful and remain imbedded in basic institutional or organizational structures. Belton, Burdens of Pleading and Proof in Discrimination Cases: Toward a Theory of Procedural Justice, 34 Vand.L.Rev. 1205, 1224 (1981). To understand why this has occurred, one need only consider the definition of racial prejudice. Invidious discrimination, in the form of racial prejudice, is the “result of subjective, irrational perceptions, which drain individuals of their dignity because of their perceived equivalence as members of a racial group.” Shaare Tefila Congregation v. Cobb, 785 F.2d 523, 528 (4th Cir.1986) (Wilkinson, J., dissenting). “Misperception lies at the heart of prejudice and the animus formed of such ignorance sows malice and hatred wherever it operates without restriction.” Id. at 529. It is not surprising that prejudice and racial stereotyping have, at times, “severely impaired the operating effectiveness of our society.” J. Levin, The Functions of Prejudice 33 (1975). Yet, discrimination persists, in part because of its function in the lives of certain members of the minority and majority groups involved. Snell v. Suffolk County, 611 F.Supp. at 529. For members of the perceived majority group, prejudice may be used to displace aggression, protect self-esteem, define self-image, and reduce uncertainty about the world as they view it. Id. citing The Functions of Prejudice at 61-62. For members of the perceived minority group, prejudice directed against it “often exerts pressure for group cohesiveness and pride, forces emphasis in its history and achievement, and brings about the development of organizations which further its interests as a group.” Id. at 100. However, racial prejudice is not strictly limited to members of the “majority.” Unfortunately, persons of any color or national origin are susceptible to the mispercep-tions and animus referred to by Judge Wilkinson. No segment of our society’s population possesses a monopoly on morality in this regard. Reverse racial discrimination by blacks against whites can be and, on occasions, has been as virulent and diseased as the discrimination by whites against blacks. One need only recall the race riots which engulfed our inner cities in the 1960’s and 1970’s to comprehend this phenomenon. Notwithstanding the above, however, this nation can generally point with some pride to the remarkable progress that has been made in the last four decades in eliminating the effects of past discrimination. Some of the improvement is directly attributable to anti-discriminatory laws passed by Congress and the state legislatures, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, upon which this action is predicated, and the strict enforcement of those laws by the courts. But much of the change has stemmed from educative institutions substantially more powerful than the courts or the political branches of government. Progress has most significantly occurred through the schools, churches and synagogues of this nation as well as from the example of enlightened public leaders representing all aspects of our society. With notable exceptions, widespread segregation in the nation’s academic institutions, public facilities, and places of employment has ended. Racial discrimination at the ballot box, in the halls of justice, and in the legislative chambers is no longer tolerated. Equal academic and employment opportunity has become the rule rather than the exception. Racial tensions in this country, by anyone’s definition, have diminished in recent years through the persistent and cooperative efforts of hundreds of thousands of our citizens. By the above statements, the court does not blithely suggest that racial discrimination in this nation has been eradicated. To the extent that dream can ever be realized, it certainly has not yet come true. Race remains this nation’s most divisive problem. Subtle vestiges (and some not so subtle) of heretofore overt discrimination and racism continue in many aspects and segments of our society as the frequent and disgusting marches of the Klu Klux Klan and the recent incidents in Howard Beach, New York and Forsyth County, Georgia, make all too clear. Fort Bragg, North Carolina, site of the litigation at bar, being a microcosim of that society, is not immune from this disease of the heart and mind. Nonetheless, comparing the status of race relations in the United States, in general, and at Ft. Bragg, in particular, one cannot help but notice the progress which has been achieved over the last twenty years. Whatever prejudice continues to manifest itself in society at large, Congress has flatly ruled that it will not be allowed, in any form or degree, in the workplace of the United States. Prejudice, whether blatant or subtle, practiced by black or white, invoked by those wearing blue collars or white collars, or wearing officers’ uniforms or grey flannel suits, will not be tolerated when directed against employees in the workplace. Snell v. Suffolk County, 611 F.Supp. at 531. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., as enacted, serves as a check on the legitimate exercise of an employer’s discretion vis-a-vis the improper exercise thereof. To this end, the statute promotes the national policy of equality of treatment between persons of different races, colors, religions, sexes, and national origins. “The broad, overriding interest, shared by employer, employee, and consumer, is efficient and trustworthy workmanship assured through fair and racially neutral employment and personnel decisions.” McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 801, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1823, 36 L.Ed. 2d 668 (1973). Title VII, thus, provides a comprehensive federal remedy for employees injured by the use of “artificial, arbitrary, and unnecessary barriers to employment when the barriers operate invidiously to discriminate on the basis of racial or other impermissible classifications.” Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424, 430-31, 91 S.Ct. 849, 853, 28 L.Ed.2d 158 (1971). Simply stated, Congress enacted Title VII as a broad remedial statute of the highest priority, designed “to make persons whole for injuries suffered on account of unlawful employment discrimination.” Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 418, 95 S.Ct. 2362, 2372, 45 L.Ed.2d 280 (1975). Consistent with this purpose, and mindful of the crucial role played by the private litigant in the statutory scheme, many procedural provisions of the Civil Rights Act have been liberally construed by the courts in favor of the complaining employee in a determined effort to reach the merits of any cognizable allegation of discrimination. See Love v. Pullman Co., 404 U.S. 522, 527, 92 S.Ct. 616, 619, 30 L.Ed.2d 679 (1972); Shehadeh v. Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co., 595 F.2d 711, 727 (D.C.Cir.1978); Sanchez v. Standard Brands, Inc., 431 F.2d 455, 462-63 (5th Cir.1970); Dickey v. Greene, 603 F.Supp. 102, 105 (E.D.N.C.1984). Notwithstanding all of the above, however, the mere fact that an individual may hold the keys to the courthouse door does not imply that he may enter with disregard for his actions therein or disdain for the rights of all other parties to the litigation. As the court has taken pains to note, the issue of racial discrimination in this nation is long-standing and remains a terribly serious one. Charges of racism, if proved, carry an enormously stigmatizing effect. Accordingly, such charges should only be leveled after careful investigation, thoughtful deliberation, and never without a reasonable basis in law and fact. This admonition becomes increasingly true as the number and intensity of the charges increase. Unfortunately, like all humanitarian remedies, Title VII is subject to abuse by those for whom the remedy was recognized and enacted. It is with the greatest of disappointment that this court finds itself in the unavoidable position of having to declare that this litigation represents a paradigm of such abuse. Harris, et al. v. Marsh, 81-60-CIV-3, and Loftin v. Marsh, 80-168-CIV-3, are employment discrimination actions brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Harris was filed on September 14, 1981, and was brought as a class action by plaintiffs Mattiebelle Harris, Samuel Sheppard, Sandra Blue, Edward Humphrey and Robert Evans. Loftin was initiated by complaint filed August 29,1980, as an individual lawsuit. The two actions were consolidated for discovery and trial on March 31,1982. Broadly stated, plaintiffs alleged that they and other black civilian employees at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, had been discriminated against in numerous employment opportunities by the defendant because of their race and color. After an extraordinary amount of discovery was exchanged, (this exchange being generally one-sided with plaintiffs doing the discovering and defendant doing the disclosing), a hearing was held on May 17, 1983, to determine whether the litigation would proceed as a class action. After review of the extensive evidence presented, the court rendered its decision denying class certification. Harris v. Marsh, 100 F.R.D. 315 (E.D.N.C.1983). See also discussion infra at 1227-1228. Subsequently, forty-four (44) individuals were allowed to permissively intervene into the action. Eleven (11) of the intervenors withdrew their claims prior to trial. Motions to dismiss most of the claims of the remaining plaintiffs and plaintiff-intervenors (hereinafter simply “plaintiffs”), on procedural grounds were denied and trial of this case began on January 23,1984. During trial, a number of plaintiffs moved to dismiss their claims and these motions were granted with prejudice upon the condition that sanctions might issue at the termination of all proceedings due to the bad-faith post-trial abandonment of claims and their frivolous nature. The enormity of this massive litigation may be gleaned from a review of a few representative statistics. The trial of this action, prior to a July 31, 1985, final settlement which essentially dismissed with prejudice nearly all of the substantive claims at issue, see discussion infra at 1237, required ninety-three (93) days of testimony and evidence. Two hundred and fifty-six (256) witnesses testified during these proceedings, some more than once. At the court’s request, over thirteen thousand (13,000) select pages of transcript have been produced by a veritable host of court reporters. Over twelve hundred (1,200) exhibits were admitted into evidence, many containing fifty (50) plus pages. One hundred forty-nine (149) depositions were filed with the court and the court file in this case is now contained in fifty-eight (58) 12" x 16" boxes in a separate room of the federal courthouse in Fayetteville. The docket sheet for this litigation, now thirty-seven (37) pages in length, reflects that the court has issued ninety-five (95) written orders of substance during the course of this proceeding and the parties have filed more briefs and memoranda than the court has time or the inclination to count. In sum, this case represents an expenditure of an extraordinary amount of time and resources for all concerned, with millions of dollars spent on its defense and prosecution. It is the largest civil rights action ever tried by the Department of the Army. The charges of discrimination in this case were nearly unlimited in their geographic and legal scope. Plaintiffs attacked, broadside, every aspect of the defendant’s merit promotion process. The judicial complaint alleged, often in scathing and conclusory terms, that defendant engaged in racially discriminatory employment practices in the following areas: (1) promotions, (2) pay for similar work by comparatively qualified black and white employees, (3) merit pay increases, (4) assignment of black employees to lower level positions, (5) underrepre-sentation of black employees at higher general schedule and supervisory positions, (6) job performance evaluations, (7) discipline, (8) use of subjective employee selection criteria, (9) reductions-in-force (RIF), (10) retaliation for exercising rights under Title VII, and (11) harassment. Engrafted upon these base-wide issues were the individual claims of the plaintiffs. Two final pre-trial orders were filed in this action, totalling four hundred thirty (430) pages. Plaintiffs contended there were forty (40) legal issues to be determined at trial, with defendant arguing the existence of one hundred twelve (112) triable issues. Disregarding any allegation of discrimination for which evidence was to be introduced solely for background purposes, plaintiffs alleged one hundred fifty (150) specific claims for relief. Plaintiffs’ proposed list of witnesses for trial totalled two hundred seventy-five (275) while defendant’s list totalled approximately eleven hundred (1,100). Between the parties, the proposed exhibits numbered for trial was in the thousands. Given the breadth of the charges leveled against defendant, the court doubts that any functional or geographic area of Ft. Bragg was left untouched. A review of the pleadings and discovery in this case reveals that hundreds of military and civilian officials were charged with racially discriminatory actions. Indeed, the allegations were stunning in their pervasiveness and tenor for nary a corner of Ft. Bragg was rendered unaffected by the claims at bar. Considering the magnitude of this action, and its obvious potential for (1) impacting on the entire civilian personnel process at Ft. Bragg, (2) disrupting the working environment and, indeed, lives of many of the officials named in the plaintiffs’ charges of discrimination, and (3) inflaming the passions of all the participants in this litigation on both sides of the issue, the court reasonably expected plaintiffs and their counsel to not only zealously advocate their claims, but also to properly temper their enthusiasm with careful regard for the obligations of truth, candor, accuracy, and in counsel’s case, the exercise of sound professional judgment. To the court’s profound dismay, the latter corollary obligations were not fulfilled. Although the court did not hear testimony on a number of claims initially raised due to the July, 1985, settlement of much of this case, the 93 days of testimony encompassed all the prosecuted substantive allegations of six plaintiffs, as well as testimony on a number of individual claims of other plaintiffs heard for the express purpose of determining, inter alia, whether sanctions for the filing of frivolous and abandoned allegations were appropriate. A review of the evidence in this case — and the court has exhaustively reviewed its trial notes, the record, the transcript and the admitted exhibits — reveals that many of the plaintiffs’ claims for relief were frivolous and without foundation. The absolute lack of credible evidence supporting so many of the allegations heard is deeply troubling. There were claims tried where the individual plaintiff was unable to produce any evidence of discrimination or retaliatory conduct on the part of defendant. See, e.g., Sheppard’s promotion claims under Merit Promotion Announcements 200-79 and 201-79, Blue’s promotion claims under Merit Promotion Announcements 273-79 and 303-79. To be sure, the court is cognizant of the fact that instances will occur where individuals will be passed over for a particular promotion and, in such situations, it is not an uncommon experience for that person to feel he was more deserving of the promotion or perhaps even more qualified than the selectee. Edwards v. Marsh, 644 F.Supp. 1564 (E.D.Mich.1986). Nevertheless, because there are often a myriad of considerations that accompany a promotional decision, the burden must rest on a plaintiff to show at least some modicum of impropriety in the decision in order to raise an inference of discrimination. Yet, time after time in this case, plaintiffs’ evidence, shorn of all its incredible underpinnings, simply came down to an assertion by the plaintiff that she/he was black, the supervisor or selecting official was white, and an adverse employment action had occurred. Such minimal evidence clearly does not meet the McDonnell Douglas test for establishing even a prima facie case of disparate treatment. See Holmes v. Bevi-lacqua, 794 F.2d 142 (4th Cir.1986) (en banc). Just as disturbing, however, was the utterly incredible nature of a number of the plaintiffs’ testimony. The testimony of plaintiffs Sheppard, Blue, Ballew and Beulah Mae Harris, in particular, was astounding for its lack of candor and truthfulness. These plaintiffs consistently testified either out of shocking ignorance or stunning disregard for the veracity of their allegations. Inconsistencies and evasiveness abound in their testimony and self-serving lapses of memory are fatally pervasive. Some of the factual allegations can most charitably be termed “fantasies.” The court cannot honestly recall another witness with whom it has been less favorably impressed than these four in all its years on the bench and in practice. Reading the transcript of their testimony, particularly the government’s devastating cross-examination, leads to one undeniable conclusion —on a number of occasions, Sheppard, Blue, Ballew and Harris lied. In addition, contributing to plaintiffs’ problems in this litigation was their unyielding and erroneous view of what constitutes discrimination in a promotion decision. By way of example, plaintiff Sheppard testified that in a promotion action, if blacks are “underrepresented” within a particular organization based upon an undifferentiated labor market and a black is among those referred for selection, the black referee must be “strongly considered” for the position. Upon being asked how one would know if one had been “strongly considered” he testified, “If you’re not selected, you haven’t been strongly considered.” The apparent disseminator of this view is the former Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) officer, James Canady, a witness for the plaintiffs, who incredibly testified that it is deliberate discrimination if, where blacks are “underrepresented” according to the Ft. Bragg Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) and Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program (FEORP), a black on the referral list is either not selected or the selecting official does not set out in writing that he has given “great weight” to the underrepresentation consideration. Cana-dy admitted on cross-examination that this view of discrimination was not written anywhere nor was he able to cite any authority for this creative proposition. Testimony similar to Sheppard’s and Canady’s can be found in plaintiff Mattie-belle Harris’ case, where she testified that in her opinion the AAP required the selection of a black where underrepresentation was noted. In her case, Canady went even further to suggest that in his opinion blacks should be represented throughout the workforce in the same proportions that they are found in the local undifferentiated labor market. To assert that any ethnic group should be represented in skilled positions such as engineers or physicians in proportion to their overall general representation in the community, regardless of education, experience and merit, is absurd. See Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara County, California, — U.S. -, 107 S.Ct. 1442, 1454, 94 L.Ed.2d 615 (1987); Hazelwood School District v. United States, 433 U.S. 299, 308 n.13, 97 S.Ct. 2736, 2742 n.13, 53 L.Ed.2d 768 (1977); EEOC v. Western Electric Co., 713 F.2d 1011, 1018 (4th Cir.1983); Paxon v. Union National Bank, 688 F.2d 552, 564 (8th Cir.1982); Woodard v. Lehman, 530 F.Supp. 139, 145 (D.S.C.1982); Jones v. First Federal Savings & Loan Assoc., 546 F.Supp. 762, 774 (M.D.N.C.1982). Canady then reiterated his view that a showing of underrepresentation obligated management to give what amounted to a preference for black applicants and, where this preference was not effected, discrimination under Title YII was presumed. These views were echoed throughout this litigation by plaintiffs and, to a great extent, their counsel. Although this concept will be discussed more thoroughly infra, it suffices to state that Canady’s theory is without support in the law. See, e.g., Valentino v. United States Postal Service, 674 F.2d 56 (D.C.Cir.1982); Frink v. United States Navy, 16 FEP Cases 67 (E.D.Pa.1977). “The fact that the [Army] itself in its Affirmative Action Plan has made comparisons to general labor force statistics to determine if minorities are underrepresented is not binding [under Title VII]. Whether or not the [Army] makes a pointless comparison to general labor force statistics, a violation of Title VII can only be established with probative statistical evidence utilizing comparisons to an appropriate labor market.” Frink, 16 FEP Cases at 71 (emphasis added). See generally Hazelwood School District v. United States, supra; EEOC v. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, 698 F.2d 633 (4th Cir.1983), rev’d on other grounds sub nom. Cooper v. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, 467 U.S. 867, 104 S.Ct. 2794, 81 L.Ed.2d 718 (1984). As to statistical evidence in general, the record is shocking not so much for what is shows as for what it fails to show. In some claims, like those of Sandra Blue, there simply was no statistical presentation made by the plaintiffs, see findings and conclusions infra, even in support of her disparate impact allegations. In other cases, where statistics were presented, the analysis was so fraught with inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and inappropriate methods of comparison that the evidence was rendered totally unreliable and incredible. See, e.g., testimony of plaintiffs’ expert Dr. Alan Parrow in claims of Mattiebelle Harris and Samuel Sheppard. Finally, the court comes to the issue which ultimately led the defendant to move, in a number of cases, for the imposition of sanctions, including attorney’s fees and costs. For various reasons, after trial of this action began, thirteen (13) plaintiffs moved to withdraw and dismiss their claims. See discussion infra. In some cases, the reasons were financial; in other cases, personal. In all cases, defendant argued that the real motive behind the plaintiffs’ respective motions was that their claims were groundless and frivolous and, as such, plaintiffs simply wanted out of the lawsuit. Thus, defendant moved the court to impose an award of fees and costs upon the plaintiffs for abuse of the judicial process which defendant claimed resulted in monetary loss to the defendant, interference with the proper defense of other claims, and a waste of judicial resources. Although many of these claims likewise were settled in July of 1985, defendant’s motion with respect to the claims of Beulah Mae Harris remains for disposition. In addition, with respect to those plaintiffs whose cases were heard by the court, allegations of discrimination which had been set forth as claims for relief in the final pre-trial orders were abandoned prior to trial of each plaintiff’s case and never pursued. Defendant, having spent enormous amounts of time and resources preparing to defend these claims was, needless to say, perturbed by this startling change of events. So was the court, for the final pre-trial order in any case must be viewed as binding on all parties to the litigation. Defendant had a right to rely on the pretrial orders sub judice and to prepare accordingly. Yet, when the time came to try each plaintiff’s claims, defendant was legitimately surprised by what claims that plaintiff was not pursuing. Plaintiffs’ view appeared to be that since defendant effectively “won” on any claim not prosecuted, defendant could not be heard to complain— no harm, no foul. This cavalier attitude toward the physical and fiscal resources of the defendant and the court (which also prepared for the trial of these claims) was and remains shocking. See findings and conclusions infra at §§ VI and VII. In sum, background claims (some never denominated as such) and claims for relief were abandoned and merged with lightening speed (time being relative in this lawsuit) at the whim of the plaintiffs and without any advance notice to defendant or the court. One was never certain, even on the eve of trial, of exactly what claims plaintiffs were pursuing, whether designated claims would be expressly waived, or whether claims, clearly designated for trial in the pre-trial order, would simply creep slowly and silently away into the night never to be heard from again. Such litigation practices are intolerable and patently unfair to the opposing party, regardless of his relative resources. All of the above circumstances lead the court to the inexorable conclusion that as a whole, defendant has been forced to defend an extraordinary lawsuit that was, with rare exceptions, groundless from the beginning. Plaintiffs seemingly viewed every adverse employment decision by agents of the defendant as racially motivated, regardless of the merits of the decision. This was true, even in cases where the plaintiff obviously was not qualified for the position sought, deserved the discipline rendered, or was a disruptive and unproductive employee. It is with great reluctance that the court finds it must hold that to the extent any racism was proven in this case, such discrimination was generally perpetrated by the plaintiffs upon the defendant, not the reverse, for it was the plaintiffs who consistently saw every criticism and action in a blindly racial context. The defense and trial of this case involved an enormous expense to the taxpayers of the United States. Such a needless drain on the manpower and public coffers of this nation cannot be viewed lightly. Plaintiffs and their counsel blatantly disregarded the cost of this litigious exercise to both the defendant and to society. As a result, the most extensive, and quite probably costly, litigation this district has ever seen took place over a span of four years— litigation which will end in this court today with no real winners and some very real losers. Although the court has touched upon some of the background of these proceedings in this opening commentary, a preface to the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law with respect to the claims of plaintiff Blue and defendant’s motion for sanctions and fees against Blue and Harris is required in the form of a more detailed II. HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS As previously noted, this action was commenced by complaint filed September 14, 1981. Plaintiffs contend that they and other similarly situated black civilian employees at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, were discriminated against and denied equal employment opportunities on the basis of race in violation of Section 717(a) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16(a). Plaintiffs seek in-junctive relief, back pay, and other equitable relief for themselves and a class of all past, present and future black employees of the defendant who were employed by defendant at any time since March 24, 1972, and who were discriminatorily denied civilian employment opportunities on the basis of race. The defendant, John O. Marsh, is Secretary of the United States Army, and in that capacity, is responsible for the various employment practices challenged at Ft. Bragg; this location being a facility of the United States Department of the Army comprising the [¶] XVIII Airborne Corps and Ft. Bragg and Tenant Units. Ft. Bragg and neighboring Pope Air Force Base comprise one of the world’s largest military installations. Indeed, Ft. Bragg’s population of 157,000 ranks it as the fifth largest “city” in North Carolina. As might be expected, an installation of this size requires significant “support” services and, in that capacity, defendant employs approximately 4,000 civilian employees annually. The civilian employees are assigned to various units or divisions of the base and provide clerical, technical and professional assistance for the armed forces’ personnel assigned to the facility. Plaintiffs are or were all employed in this capacity. Shortly after the initiation of this lawsuit, what was to be a long and exhausting discovery process commenced. Between November of 1981 and February of 1983, an extraordinary amount of information was exchanged between the parties with a maximum of effort and a relative minimum of motions, as evidenced by the sheer number of depositions filed with the court, documents produced in response to various requests, and interrogatories answered. Trial was originally scheduled for May 9, 1983. On February 23, 1983, defendant requested a determination that the case not proceed as a class action. The court denied the motion, but directed plaintiffs to move for class certification by April 18,1983, and continued the trial date to August 1, 1983. Plaintiffs properly filed their motion and defendant timely responded. A hearing was conducted on May 17, 1983, at which plaintiff adduced further evidence. Following the hearing, supplemental pleadings were filed by both sides. By order dated June 30, 1983, the court denied plaintiffs’ motion, holding that plaintiffs had failed to meet the factual burden established in General Telephone Co. of Southwest v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982), for class claims and a memorandum opinion followed. Harris v. Marsh, 100 F.R.D. 315 (E.D.N.C.1983). As an initial matter, the court observed that plaintiffs’ primary challenge was to defendant’s promotional process and, absent any specific attack on an isolated, facially neutral requirement within that process, plaintiffs’ general promotion claims were most properly analyzed under the disparate treatment theory. Id. at 322. Although as this case progressed, certain individual adverse impact claims arose, such as one of Blue’s claims still in issue, this finding has generally retained its validity. The court’s review of the anecdotal and documentary evidence presented by the plaintiffs failed to establish “that a significant number of the alleged class members have been discriminated against in the same way as have the named plaintiffs.” Id. Furthermore, the court found that plaintiffs’ statistical presentation failed to raise any compelling inference of discrimination. Indeed, defendant’s unre-futed evidence demonstrated that blacks have been favored in promotions: PROMOTION OF BLACKS AT FORT BRAGG Blacks in Ft. Bragg Work Force Actual Promotions 1979 22.9% 21.6% 1980 22.8% 24.2% 1981 23.5% 23.9% Id. at 323. In reviewing the requirements of Rule 23(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the court held that “[p]laintiffs have offered scant evidence as to the alleged claims of fifty-five employees ... [with] most of these individuals [failing to] to present a prima facie case of discrimination.” Id. at 324. As a result, the court found that plaintiffs failed to meet the numerosity requirement. Id. With regard to typicality, the court held that “[t]he statistics tend to reveal that black employees at Ft. Bragg are, in general, promoted in proportion to their numbers in the work force, receive awards in that proportion, and are trained in the same manner as their counterparts.... The statistics ... suggest that [ ] discrimination is the exception rather than the rule.” Id. at 324-25. Accordingly, the court found that plaintiffs failed to meet the typicality and adequacy of representation requirements of Rule 23(a). Id. at 325. Immediately after class certification was denied, forty-four (44) members of the disappointed class plaintiffs sought to represent moved to intervene as party-plaintiffs. Over strenuous opposition of the defendant, the court allowed the movants to permissively intervene, pursuant to Rule 24(b)(2), holding that “while classwide relief may not be available.... [t]here is a common nucleus of law and fact among [the proposed intervenors’] claims.” Order of August 25, 1983, at 2. See Hill v. Western Electric Co., 672 F.2d 381 (4th Cir.1982) (holding that upon denial of class certification, motions for intervention by members of the putative class should be liberally allowed). Upon order of the court, an Amended Complaint-in-Intervention was filed on August 25, 1983, and the trial date was eventually re-scheduled for January 23, 1984. For the next several months, discovery regarding the intervenors was conducted at a rapid pace with omnibus pre-trial motions being advanced by both sides, particularly the defendant. As a result of all this activity, the court entered a responding omnibus order disposing of all pending motions at the final pre-trial conference in December of 1983. In sum, the court held that: (1) The motion of eleven (11) intervenors for leave to withdraw as plaintiffs, filed within approximately one month of their initial motion to intervene, was allowed; (2) Counsel for plaintiffs satisfactorily resolved a host of potential conflicts among the plaintiffs by agreement of various in-tervenors and named plaintiffs not to pursue fifteen (15) competing promotion claims; (3) Defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff-intervenor Catherine Gutierrez was allowed as her claims turned out to be wholly atypical and therefore not the proper subject of permissive intervention; (4) Although plaintiffs’ motion to compel the production of a computer readable database prepared by the defendant’s experts for trial was denied, all of the raw data upon which the base was predicated, i.e., all of the relevant promotional files at Ft. Bragg, was ordered made available to the plaintiffs for inspection and copying. Of course most of this material had already been disclosed to plaintiffs long before this order; (5) Defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment against some of the claims of twelve (12) plaintiffs on grounds that these claims were previously administratively resolved and settled was denied. The court found the existence of a factual dispute as to the validity and effect of any such release, see Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36, 94 S.Ct. 1011, 39 L.Ed.2d 147 (1974), and established a procedure to hear evidence on these disputes prior to the start of each plaintiff’s claim; (6) Defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment against sixty-seven (67) claims of twenty-two (22) plaintiffs on grounds that these claims were not ripe, i.e., that these plaintiffs filed suit prior to any final agency decision on their EEO complaints and prior to the passage of 180 days, as required by 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16(e), thus, failing to exhaust their administrative remedies, was denied. The court held that exhaustion of administrative remedies was not required where, as in this case, the named plaintiffs exhausted their administrative remedies and exhaustion by the intervenors similarly situated, would have been futile. Lilly v. Harris-Teeter Supermarket, 720 F.2d 326 (4th Cir.1983); Foster v. Gueory, 655 F.2d 1319 (D.C.Cir.1981); (7) Defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment against thirty-five (35) claims of eleven (11) plaintiffs on grounds that these claims were not presented to an EEO counselor within thirty (30) days of the alleged discriminatory act, as required by 29 C.F.R. § 1613.214(a)(i) (1983), was denied. Extending the logic of Lilly v. Harris-Teeter Supermarket, supra, the court found that as long as the alleged act of discrimination occurred after March 3, 1980, the claim need not have been the subject of any EEO complaint. In addition, each claim in this category was held subject to equitable tolling; and (8) Defendant’s motion for summary judgment against twenty-four (24) claims of thirteen (13) plaintiffs was granted on grounds that these claims arose more than thirty (30) days prior to the filing date of the administrative class complaint. See n. 18, supra. Upon further ruling June 30,1983, as the forward cut-off date for any claim at bar and bifurcating the trial on issues of liability and damages, the final pre-trial orders, as previously described supra at 1223, were filed. Trial of this action commenced, most appropriately, at high noon on January 23, 1984, in Fayetteville. According to the final pre-trial orders, trial time for the claims of the remaining thirty-eight (38) plaintiffs was estimated by the parties at nine (9) weeks. This case, among others, has since convinced the court never to trust trial counsel’s view of how long their case will take. From the onset, it became apparent to everyone that this prediction of trial length was vastly understated. Significant evidentiary and procedural problems surfaced immediately, an omen of events to follow. Questions were raised concerning (1) the applicability of the forward cut-off date to allegedly on-going claims of retaliation and harassment; (2) what claims were specifically designated for relief and what claims were introduced solely for background purposes; (3) the order of witnesses and the scope of their testimony; (4) the scope of cross-examination and of re-direct; (5) redaction of contested exhibits; (6) the use of cumulative and repetitive testimony; (7) the use of statistics within the Ft. Bragg AAP; (8) the evasiveness of witnesses; (9) the attempted impeachment of witnesses by collateral contradiction; (10) the admissibility and weight to be given findings and recommendations of the EEOC and the intermediate findings of the agency’s administrative bodies; (11) the admissibility of evidence of alleged discriminatory acts committed by supervisory personnel at Ft. Bragg against third party civilian employees, where the supervisor is not charged by the plaintiffs with being an alleged discriminatory official (ADO); (12) the time-consuming process of reading, line by line, portions of exhibits introduced into evidence; and (13) the admissibility, pursuant to Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(D), of statements offered against the defendant, made by ADO’s and non-ADO’s while employed at Ft. Bragg concerning personnel decisions rendered by that official. In addition to these problems, simply attempting to master the merit promotion process at Ft. Bragg, the terminology employed by both civilian and military personnel at the installation, and the organizational structure of the base itself became a challenging and time-consuming, if less than exciting, daily adventure into the unknown for the court. Complicating the trial process even further was the simple fact that plaintiffs’ case was, from its initiation, poorly prepared with essential groundwork for important testimony never laid. Often, testimony in plaintiffs’ case-in-chief was left hanging and wholly ambiguous until the defendant could fill in (and overrun) the gaps with his own witnesses. All of the above factors, of course, led to an exorbitant increase in trial time per plaintiff per claim. The final pre-trial order listed nine (9) specific claims for the first plaintiff, Mattiebelle Harris. Three (3) weeks after the trial started, the court was still listening to testimony in the claim of Mattiebelle Harris. Indeed, Ms. Harris herself testified for over five (5) days. Faced with the intolerable prospect of trying the remainder of the case at the pace established by the Harris claims, the court, on March 20, 1984, issued a lengthy procedural order re-defining the rules of the game from that date forward. Individual trial briefs were required for each plaintiff’s case. Particularized identification of claims, witnesses, their testimony, and exhibits was mandated. Deadlines for proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law were established. Additional pre-trial stipulations were strongly encouraged. Background organizational and command structure evidence was ordered at the introduction of each claim. Time limitations per plaintiff and written direct testimony were threatened. All ongoing evidentiary disputes were resolved, many in favor of the position advanced by the plaintiffs. See Order of March 20, 1984, at Section XIII, paras. C, G, L, N, and O, pp. 13-16. Evidence on the claims of Mattiebelle Harris concluded on February 17,1984, and the Sheppard claims began, after a delay, on March 26, 1984. The court notes that the plaintiffs’ process of abandoning claims during trial began early with the Sheppard case. Just by way of example, Sheppard alleged seven (7) claims for relief in the Final Pre-Trial Order, see p. 23, including claims for the discriminatory denial of Merit Promotion Announcement (MPA) 33-80, discriminatory detailing, denial of training, and evaluation. Yet, when Sheppard’s pretrial brief of March 26, 1984, was filed, only three (3) claims for relief were alleged —MPA 33-80 and the detailing, training, and evaluation claims were not among them. See Sheppard’s Brief at 3-4. When the omission of MPA 33-80 was brought to plaintiff’s attention, plaintiff’s counsel stated that this claim had recently been converted to a background claim. In contradiction with this statement, Sheppard was later to testify at his sanctions hearing that he assumed it was a background claim all along. Although the Sheppard case proceeded at a slightly faster pace, evidence was not completed until April 18, 1984. Testimony on plaintiff Blue’s claims began on April 19, 1984. In the interim, on April 17, 1984, defendant filed his first motion for sanctions alleging abuse of judicial process by the bad-faith abandonment, without notice, of final pre-trial claims for relief in the cases of Mattiebelle Harris, Sheppard, and Blue (as proposed in Blue’s pre-trial brief of April 3, 1984). As defendant stated at the time: Plaintiffs made broad allegations of racial discrimination in their initial complaint, subsequent multiple answers to defendant’s interrogatories, and several pre-trial orders. In these documents plaintiffs expanded and amplified upon their allegations and cited specific merit promotion announcements and issues which they asserted they would litigate. Plaintiffs in effect placed defendant on notice that almost every personnel action involving plaintiffs and/or intervenors would be litigated. Defendant was therefore, forced to be prepared to rebut such issues_ As can be seen, however, such allegations [with many now abandoned] were a mere smoke screen to divert the time, energies and money of the defendant away from what would turn out to be the actual issues.... Defendant bilieve [sic] that the sudden dropping of these claims damaged them_because plaintiffs either deliberately or carelessly made grandiose allegations without any evidentiary support. This method of recklessly making charges [ ] distracted defendant from refining their defenses on the real causes of action that plaintiffs intended to pursue. . Plaintiffs contended that they dropped these claims pursuant to the court’s desire to speed up the litigation. Such an excuse cannot be credited when closely scrutinized. Either plaintiffs believed these claims were meritorious to begin with, in which case it is difficult to believe that they would spontaneously drop them now solely to shorten trial time or they were deliberately inserted with the intent to mislead the defendant. ... It is inconceivable that the plaintiffs maintained a good faith belief that they had been discriminated against in these claims but dropped them merely to shorten the proceedings.... Obviously what occurred in reality was that these were dubious claims to begin with and that they were dropped when the court required plaintiffs to further specify the facts in each and every case.... [Thus], the most baseless of these claims were quickly abandoned. Defendant’s Memorandum of April 17, 1984, at 2-6. Unfortunately, as this opinion will later find, the court is forced to agree with much of what defendant wrote in April of 1984. Defendant’s motion for sanctions was taken under advisement and a briefing schedule established. Shortly thereafter (April 25), trial of the Blue claims was recessed until August due to the press of other litigation and certain unavoidable and exigent personal matters. On May 7, 1984, plaintiffs Jeanne Hen-don, James Fleming and Beulah Mae Harris moved for voluntary dismissal of all their claims, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.Proc. 41(a)(2). Plaintiffs contended that, although their claims were meritorious, various legitimate reasons now necessitated their withdrawal from the lawsuit. Hen-don asserted time, expense and health reasons. Fleming argued that he was financially unable to pursue the litigation any further and, in any event, his most important claims had been dismissed by the court in its December 8, 1983, Order. Harris alleged that she was harassed and retaliated against due to her participation in this lawsuit and that she would pursue her continuing claims in this regard in another forum. See Findings and Conclusions infra at §§ VI and VII. Defendant responded to plaintiff’s motion, arguing that plaintiffs’ claims were frivolous and pursued in bad faith. Although defendant did not oppose dismissal of the claims, defendant moved for sanctions and an award of fees and costs. On June 6, 1984, the court granted plaintiffs’ motion with prejudice, but expressly conditioned the dismissal by reserving its right to render a decision on defendant’s motion for sanctions and enter judgment against plaintiffs at that time. Motions similar to that filed by Hendon, Fleming and Harris were subsequently filed by Violet Henderson and Leonetta Bibby on July 26, 1984, Alicia Chisholm on July 30,1984, and Carlton Giles, King Cameron, Viola McLean, Manuel Early, Jessie Williams, Nancy Alexander, and Joyce Malone on September 14, 1984. Reasons for the proposed dismissals varied with each plaintiff: some personal, some financial, some ambiguous. It would serve no useful purpose to recite them all here. Defendant filed a similar response in each case and the court issued orders identical to that filed on June 6, 1984. Sanctions hearings were eventually held in 1985 with regard to these motions to dismiss, and all of these disputes, except with respect to Blue and Beulah Mae Harris, eventually settled in July of 1985. Deeply concerned about the four month delay in proceeding with the trial of Blue’s claims, the court, in an effort to effectively utilize at least a portion of this time, referred all of the collateral settlement issues which remained open after the court’s December, 1983, order to United States Magistrate Wallace Dixon for hearing as a master pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 53(b) and 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(5). A three day evi-dentiary hearing was subsequently held by the Magistrate in Fayetteville on the claims of plaintiffs Robert Evans and Mitchell McKeller. On August 1,1984, the Magistrate issued his report concluding that neither plaintiff was barred from asserting any claim for relief as the disputed claims were never legally resolved by means of the administrative complaint process. After objections were filed by the defendant, the court indicated orally that with some modification in the Magistrate’s findings of fact, the court adopted the report’s extensive conclusions of law in toto. One other incident of significance needs to be mentioned prior to a return to the trial of Blue’s claims in August of 1984. James Canady, a witness for the plaintiffs, filed an informal EEO complaint alleging that defense counsel retaliated against him because of his testimony in this case and intimidated him during a public speech at an Army EEO seminar in May of 1984. Defense counsel emphatically denied the charge and requested an immediate eviden-tiary hearing, which the court held on June 8, 1984, in Raleigh. As a result of this hearing, the court found that defense counsel’s comments at the seminar, concerning the history of this litigation and plaintiffs’ view of the effect of AAP's, were not intended nor could they reasonably be perceived as direct or indirect threats or attempts to intimidate Canady. Indeed, Ca-nady stated at the hearing that he did not feel intimidated with regard to any future testimony. Accordingly, the court found no misconduct on counsel’s part and no threat to the integrity of the litigation. See Order of July 27, 1984. On August 27, 1984, the trial resumed in Wilmington. As befits this case, testimony was soon thereafter interrupted by Hurricane Diana, which hit Wilmington in early September of 1984 not once, but twice. Thankfully, all participants to the litigation survived the lady’s double onslaught and testimony in Blue’s case was completed on September 4, 1984. I note that one good thing did come of Diana’s visit(s) to Wilmington and that was the break in trial which allowed the court to re-assess the status of the litigation, then in its ninth week. As furious acts of nature have a way of doing, hurricanes can make a person realize his own mortality. Deciding that it was quite possible I didn’t have enough time remaining in my lifetime to complete this case at the pace then in progress, the court, pursuant to Fed.R. Evid. 611(a), established time limitations for all of the remaining claims, beginning with the next plaintiff, Geraldine Ballew. Each party was allowed a total block of hours for direct and re-direct examination of their witnesses as well as cross and re-cross examination of the opposing party’s witnesses. In Ballew’s case, each side was allotted twenty-three (23) hours and neither party reached their limit. Evidence in the Ballew case was completed on September 14, 1984; testimony on the claims of Robert Evans began on September 17, 1984, and ran through September 21, 1984. Again, due to pending criminal litigation which has priority, trial recessed and was not resumed until February 25, 1985. In the interim, the parties filed proposed findings and conclusions with respect to completed claims, pre-trial materials for upcoming cases, and cross-motions for sanctions on a series of discovery disputes. From the events that occurred in early March of 1985, it is also apparent that counsel engaged in extensive settlement negotiations over this break, as the court had long been urging. Trial again resumed on February 25, 1985, and quickly thereafter both the claims of Robert Evans and Mitchell McKeller were completed. As the court was preparing to hear the next series of claims, those of plaintiff Edward Humphrey, counsel informed the court that a partial settlement of this action had been reached. Although the terms of the agreement took a few days to iron out, an “Agreement” was signed and filed on March 4, 1985. The terms of the accord were as follows: (1) The defendant agreed to continue to implement its AAP and FEORP in good faith, attempting to achieve the goals and time-tables specified therein. Plaintiffs conceded, however, that both plans were based on an undifferentiated labor market and, thus, if the goals of the plans were not met as scheduled, plaintiffs agreed not to bring a proceeding against the defendant alleging that defendant’s failure violated the agreement; (2) All of the plaintiffs with cases remaining to be decided, except Mattiebelle Harris, Sheppard, Blue, Ballew and Evans, agreed to dismiss their claims with prejudice, as well as any pending EEO or other administrative charge or grievance which formed the predicate of the claims at bar or which were raised subsequent to June 30, 1983. In return, defendant agreed to pay the sum of $75,000.00 to the plaintiffs as a group, with certain discovery expenses incurred by the defendant set-off from that figure; (3) Those claims heard by the court— Harris, Sheppard, Blue, Ballew and Evans —were to be adjudicated by the court, with both parties waiving any right to appteal said ruling. In addition, plaintiffs agreed not to pursue any claim for class relief or seek reconsideration of the denial of class certification; (4) All pending motions for sanctions, filed by either party, were to be decided by the court with both sides reserving the right to appeal any decision rendered thereto; and (5) Defendant agreed to waive any claims to costs, expenses or fees in the Ballew case. Plaintiffs agreed to the same in all cases, except those of Harris, Sheppard, Blue and Evans. Upon filing of the “Agreement,” trial was recessed until March 11, 1985, to allow the parties to prepare for the sanctions hearings to follow. The sanctions hearings were divided and sub-divided in the following manner. First, the court entertained testimony and argument with respect to a series of cross-motions regarding alleged discovery and procedural abuses not directly linked to any individual claim. Second, defendant’s motion for sanctions, fees and costs with respect to each of the individual plaintiffs was heard in a bifurcated setting, with evidence as to “liability” in each case coming initially and evidence as to “damages,” i.e., requested fees and costs, being heard last. In addition, at the liability stage of the proceeding, the court specifically directed that two questions be addressed: (1) whether the claim(s) at issue were frivolous, meritless or vexatious under Christiansburg Garment Co. v. EEOC, 434 U.S. 412, 421, 98 S.Ct. 694, 700, 54 L.Ed.2d 648 (1978) and 28 U.S.C. § 1927; and (2) whether any claims for relief designated as such in the final pre-trial order were abandoned after the start of trial and, if so, whether the abandonment occurred for a legitimate and good-faith reason. See Order of May 29, 1985. Defendant’s request for costs, expenses and fees against the individual plaintiffs exceeded $220,-000.00. After expeditiously resolving most of the discovery disputes between the parties, evidence on the defendant’s motions against the individual plaintiffs began on March 11, 1985. Trial on the liability aspect of the defendant’s motions took place on March 11-15, March 26-29, and April 8-10, 1985. Upon completion of the evidence, court was recessed to allow briefing by the parties, a decision by the court on the liability issues, and preparation for any required hearing on damages. During April, May and early June, the parties filed extensive proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. Upon review of those materials, the court’s trial notes, and significant portions of the record, the court informed counsel that it would find in favor of plaintiffs Mattiebelle Harris and Leonetta Bibby and, therefore, testimony as to damages in those cases was rendered moot. As for the remaining plaintiffs, the court indicated to counsel that it was seriously considering imposing at least partial sanctions on a number of claims against those individuals and, potentially, against counsel. Accordingly, defendant was ordered to file a fee and cost application with the court by claim, indicating a breakdown of the reasonable hours expended by counsel and their litigation staff, as well as counsel’s hourly rate requested. Order of June 6, 1985, citing Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 104 S.Ct. 1541, 79 L.Ed.2d 891 (1984); Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983); National Association of Concerned Veterans v. Secretary of Defense, 675 F.2d 1319 (D.C.Cir.1982); and Copeland v. Marshall, 641 F.2d 880 (D.C.Cir.1980) (en banc ). Plaintiffs were ordered to present any evidence contesting the reasonableness of the hours claimed or rate requested at the July 8 session of court. See Order of July 5, 1985. Plaintiffs were also ordered to present any evidence at that time indicating a financial inability to pay the requested amount. Id. Prior to the start of the July 8 hearings, one of the plaintiffs, Alicia Chisholm, who had retained independent counsel, reached an agreement with the defendant resolving defendant’s motion for sanctions against her. This agreement was approved by the court on July 3, 1985. Hearings on the issue of damages were held for eight (8) days, commencing July 10, 1985. During this process, the parties were simultaneously conducting late night negotiations aimed at resolving the entire dispute. These negotiations reached fruition on July 31,1985, with the filing of the “Final Agreement,” previously mentioned in this opinion, disposing of all substantive claims, save those of Sandra Blue, and all sanctions motions, save those of Blue and Beulah Mae Harris. Specifically, the Agreement dismissed with prejudice all individual and class claims of race discrimination and retaliation against the defendant, except Blue’s, which arose from plaintiffs’ employment at Ft. Bragg up to June 30, 1983, “known or unknown,” “matured or unmatured,” that were raised or could have been raised in this lawsuit under Title VII. Further, all EEO and administrative charges and grievances forming the basis of any claim at bar or raised between June 30,1983, and March 4, 1985, were dismissed. All motions for sanctions, fees, and costs were dismissed, except those against Blue and Harris. This Agreement superceded the March 4, 1985, settlement and constituted a “full and complete resolution of all matters alleged in this litigation,” except for the claims heretofore mentioned. See also Orders of August 6 and 7, 1985. By order of August 6, 1985, the court interpreted the Agreement as a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice under Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(a)(1)(h), thus, rendering the document immediately effective and obviating the need for judicial approval. McCall-Bey v. Franzen, 777 F.2d 1178, 1184-85 (7th Cir.1985); American Cyanamid Co. v. McGhee, 317 F.2d 295, 297 (5th Cir.1963); Wright and Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure: Civil § 2363 (1971). Following filing of the “Final Agreement,” both sides submitted numerous briefs, affidavits and materials on the remaining claims and motions at issue. Evidence was deemed closed as of August 23, 1985, and final pleadings were filed by November 5, 1985. Accordingly, the court will now consider seriatim the substantive claims of plaintiff Sandra Blue and defendant’s motion for sanctions against plaintiffs Blue and Beulah Mae Harris. The credible evidence adduced at trial in this case supports the following. III. FINDINGS OF FACT AS TO DEFENDANT’S PERSONNEL POLICIES AND METHODOLOGY OP PROMOTION Both sides introduced extensive evidence as to the organization and promot