A black man whose white co-worker was convicted of ethnic intimidation for slipping a noose around his neck may have no civil rights claim against his employer because the co-worker was not a supervisor, a federal judge has ruled.

In his 19-page opinion in Jackson v. T & N Van Service, U.S. District Judge Robert F. Kelly refused to grant summary judgment to the plaintiff on three of his claims — Section 1981, Title VII and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.