The Watsons, African-Americans, sued in August 1998 after a female courier from the Port St. John Pizza Hut, near Cocoa, delivered a $10 pizza to their home. A receipt with the pizza allegedly contained a racial slur and the word 'stupid', court records show.

Fawsett's rationale for trashing the jury award was that corporate officials could not be held responsible for the alleged illegal actions of employees, court records of her order show. The Atlanta appellate court disagreed.

Pizza Hut fired the employee who allegedly wrote on the receipt and also his supervisor. The restaurant apologized and offered to take the Watsons to dinner which they declined, testimony shows.