Michael WHITE, Appellant, v. McDONNELL DOUGLAS CORPORATION; McDonnell Douglas Aircraft, Appellees

MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.

Michael White worked for the McDonnell Douglas Corporation between mid-1979 and late 1990, when he was laid off. In 1987, Mr. White sued McDonnell Douglas, alleging race discrimination; he subsequently dropped the suit but refiled it in 1988. The trial court granted summary judgment to McDonnell Douglas in that suit in late 1989 after Mr. White failed to respond to the company’s motion for summary judgment; that judgment was affirmed on appeal. See White v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 904 F.2d 456 (8th Cir.1990) (per curiam).

Between late 1989 and mid-1990,…