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Wal-Mart Bias Suit Filing Date Up in Air

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — A federal judge said Friday he will decide in a few days whether to extend a filing deadline 90 days or 120 days on a gender bias suit against Wal-Mart Stores here.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — A federal judge said Friday he will decide in a few days whether to extend a filing deadline 90 days or 120 days on a gender bias suit against Wal-Mart Stores here.

Attorneys for the plaintaiffs — a group of women seeking to sue Wal-Mart on the basis of gender bias — want the filing deadline extended until Jan. 16; Theorore Boutrous, Wal-Mart's attoney, said he would be OK with extending the filing till Oct. 20. He said the company is not opposed to "start the clock fresh" on this and other potential gender-bias claims that were blocked from being filed while Wal-Mart challenged the legality of a class-action lawsuit filed in 2001.

That suit — filed on behalf of more than one million workers — was rejected last month by the U.S. Supreme Court, which said the plaintiffs failed to prove Wal-Mart had a nationwide policy that led to gender discrimination.