Reopen Walmart case, plaintiffs urge

Plaintiffs in a sex-bias lawsuit stemming from the landmark Dukes v. Walmart class action have asked a federal judge in Florida to reconsider his recent order closing their case against Walmart Inc.

In a motion filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the three former Walmart employees said the Bentonville-based retailer withheld key evidence supporting their claims until after the deadline for it to be admissible for consideration.

Judge Robert N. Scola said in his ruling granting Walmart’s motion for summary judgment that the evidence submitted past the deadline “certainly indicates that something was indeed rotten within the corporate culture at Walmart.” Without it, however, he said the plaintiffs had insufficient evidence to support their discrimination claims.

Lindsey Wagner, an attorney with the Scott Wagner & Associates law firm who represents the plaintiffs, said on Monday that they “have decided not to comment at this time.”

Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove said Monday that the retailer believes the court ruled correctly in granting its motion for summary judgment and in finding the plaintiffs “failed to demonstrate they had been discriminated against in pay or promotion based on their gender.”

Plaintiffs Kathleen Forbes, Linda Ray and Edna Remington were part of the 1.5 million-member Betty Dukes et al v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. classaction case ended by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011. The three plaintiffs’ case is