A federal judge Monday threw out race discrimination claims by a former Savannah restaurant manager whose lawsuit against Paula Deen has already cost the celebrity cook a valuable chunk of her culinary empire. 
 
 FILE - In this June 23, 2006 file photo, Uncle Bubba's Oyster House chef and owner Bubba Hiers, who is also Paula Deen's brother, grills oysters at the Savannah, Ga. restaurant. A federal judge in Georgia... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Jan. 17, 2012 file photo, celebrity chef Paula Deen poses for a portrait in New York. A federal judge in Georgia on Monday, Aug. 12, 2013 threw out race discrimination claims by a former... (Associated Press) 
 
 Lisa Jackson sued Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, last year saying she suffered from sexual harassment and racially offensive talk and employment practices that were unfair to black workers during her five years as a manager of Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House. Deen is co-owner of the restaurant, which is primarily run by her brother. 
 
 But claims of race discrimination by Jackson, who is white, were gutted in the 20-page opinion by U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. The judge agreed with lawyers for Deen and Hiers that Jackson has no standing to sue her former employers for what she claims was poor treatment of black workers, regardless of her claims that she was offended and placed under additional stress. 
 
 Jackson, at best, "is an accidental victim of the alleged racial discrimination," Moore said in his ruling. "There are no allegations that defendant Hiers's racially offensive comments were either directed toward plaintiff or made with the intent to harass her." 
 
 The ruling lets stand Jackson's claims that Hiers sexually harassed her when she worked at the restaurant from 2005 to 2010. However, the judge said he was reserving the chance to rule on requests from Deen's lawyers to dismiss other claims in the lawsuit. 
 
 The judge added that to allow Jackson to seek legal recourse for discrimination directed toward other workers "would serve to conscript federal courts as human resource departments that are responsible for imposing and monitoring a federally created standard for harmony in the workplace." 
 
 Of course, Jackson's race-based claims have already resulted in serious damage to Deen's public image. It was Jackson's lawyer who questioned Deen under oath in May when she acknowledged having used racial slurs in the past. A transcript of the legal deposition became public in June, and the backlash against Deen caused the Food Network and other corporate sponsors and business partners to drop her. 
 
 Still, Deen's publicist issued an upbeat statement Monday. 
 
 "We are pleased with the court's ruling today that Lisa Jackson's claims of race discrimination have been dismissed," Elana Weiss said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. "As Ms. Deen has stated before, she is confident that those who truly know how she lives her life know that she believes in equal opportunity, kindness and fairness for everyone." 
 
 Jackson's attorney, Matthew Billips, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Attorneys for Deen and Hiers also did not immediately return phone calls. 
 
 The judge's decision comes a month after Deen and Hiers dumped their attorneys and hired a new legal team. But the court motions seeking dismissal for all race-based claims in the case were filed in December, months before those changes were made. 
 
 In her lawsuit, Jackson had claimed Hiers frequently made jokes containing racial slurs at work and prohibited black workers from using the restaurant's front entrance and customer restrooms. She said she was personally offended because she had biracial nieces. 
 
 Attorneys for Deen have said in court filings that Jackson's lawsuit was based on "scurrilous and false claims." They said before Jackson filed suit, she threatened to embarrass Deen publicly unless she paid the ex-employee "huge sums of money." 

 Paula Deen Wins Racial Lawsuit That Destroyed Her 
 
 Paula Deen Wins Racial Discrimination Lawsuit That Destroyed Her 
 
 Breaking News 
 
 In one of the most supremely ironic court decisions in a long time, a judge just threw out the racial discrimination claim filed against-- the very lawsuit that destroyed the famous chef.A judge just ruled ...had no right to claim racial discrimination, BECAUSE SHE'S WHITE! Any comments that Deen or her cohorts may have made had no legal consequence to her, because she's simply not the right color.Jackson made a tenuous argument that someone in her family was bi-racial -- something that may not be true at all. But the judge said even if it were true, she was at best an "accidental victim."Short story -- Jackson ruined Paula with a bogus claim.The case goes on, because Jackson also claims sexual discrimination, and so far there's not basis to doubt that she's a woman.
– You know you've made it—or something like that—when both the New York Times and TMZ are covering you. Both publications, among a slew of others, report that a federal judge yesterday threw out the racial bias claim filed against Paula Deen by a former restaurant manager. (This, you'll recall, is the suit that brought Deen's use of the n-word to light and led to such memorable lines as "I is what I is.") In a 20-page opinion, US District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. ruled that Lisa Jackson, who is white, has no standing to sue Deen over the alleged mistreatment of black workers, even if she claims such alleged treatment offended her (the AP notes Jackson says she took personal offense because she has biracial nieces) and placed her under additional stress. Jackson, at best, "is an accidental victim of the alleged racial discrimination," Moore said in his ruling. TMZ's take: "Short story—Jackson ruined Paula with a bogus claim." Jackson’s pending sexual harassment allegations against Deen's brother are unaffected.