A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the award of more than $830,000 to a group of New Orleans firefighters who found they were victims of racial discrimination when they were hired in the early 1990s.

The City of New Orleans had appealed the original order that it owed $486,913 in wages, plus interest, since March 1992 to 32 white firefighters who were hired after black firefighters who scored lower on the same civil service test.

The city argued that the suit, which was filed in 1999, was untimely, saying the firefighters should have sought redress earlier.

The firefighters argued that the time limit for their claim did not begin until 1998, when a deposition by then-chief William McCrossen detailed the practice for hiring one black recruit for each white recruit, even when the black recruit scored lower than the next highest white recruit.

The judgment in favor of the firefighters was upheld by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"The district court did not clearly err when it found that each of the present plaintiffs' claims were timely," the ruling said.

The ruling means the city will have to pay the award, with interest for 15 years -- going back to the date the discrimination took place, and attorney fees of over $400,000, said the plaintiff's attorney, Clem Donelon.

"You're looking at about $1.3 million all together," Donelon said.

The ruling could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Donelon acknowledged.

"There is virtually no chance the Supreme Court will take an appeal on this," Donelon said. "The U.S. Supreme court is not interested in Louisiana's limitation periods, and that was the only basis of the appeal."

Assistant City Attorney Franz Ziblich did not immediately return a telephone call for comment.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)