The Division One Court of Appeals overturned a judgment against Kevin Dumont, a white firefighter this morning, sending the case back to the trial court to determine whether the Fire Department discriminated against him by promoting a black firefighter instead. Dumont and Eric Lanier were applying for the job of deckhand on a fireboat, and Dumont scored higher on the test for the position and had a better disciplinary record. Former Fire Chief Gary Morris hired Lanier, citing Lanier’s more extensive boat experience. Dumont sued the city under RCW 49.60.400, or Initiative 200, the 1998 citizen’s initiative that prohibits public entities from using race/sex/etc. preferences in hiring, contracting, and school admissions. The trial court granted summary judgment to the city, basically holding that Dumont hadn’t met the burden of showing the possibility of racial preferences. Today’s ruling means that the court will have to hold a trial over that issue (or the parties will have to settle).