Patton v. Conrad Area School DistrictPatton v. Conrad Area School District
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On July 1, 1974 рlaintiff Ann R. Patton filed a complaint seeking equitable relief, compensatory and punitive damages. She claims: (1) that she was deprived of her rights to due process and equal protection of the law in violation of
Turning first to a consideration of the defendants’ Rule 12(b) motions, the following well pleaded material allegations of plaintiff are taken as true: Plaintiff had been employed by the defendant School District in various capacities as a teacher and administrator for over twelve years, most recently as a coordinator, acting as Supervisor of Personnel under a contract running from July 1, 1973 to June 30, 1974. On December 19, 1973 the defendant Board of Education voted to terminate her contract for technical reasons, that is, if the contract were not terminated by December 30, 1973, it would automatically be renewed for an additional year under its terms. Between February 1, 1974 and April 2, 1974, plaintiff through her counsel attempted to obtain various information from the Board; on the latter date, сounsel for the Board agreed to provide minutes of the December 19, 1973 Board meeting. Thereafter, on May 22, 1974, the School District advertised for applications to replace plaintiff in her job, and on June 25, 1974, the Board offered the job to a man. In addition, the Board denied plaintiff a “higher level” job, viz., Director. 3 Plaintiff on June 26, 1974 filed a complaint by mail with the Baltimore District Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis *413 sion [EEOC]. That complaint charged unlawful discrimination against her in her employment based upon sex. Finally, the complaint alleges that as of June 28, 1974,
“The [EEOC] . . . ha[d] informed petitioner that upon investigation of employment practices by the Defendant that it ha[d] found the Board to be in present violation of [42 U.S.C. 2000e-2] and engaged in sex discrimination in employment; and FURTHER that the Board ha[d] failed to reply to the Commission with regard to its finding of sex discrimination as of [thаt] date.”
I.
Motion To Dismiss The
Defendants have moved to dismiss the plaintiff’s claim based on a violation of
Turning to a consideration of the administrative procedure which must be followed when the case is initiated by someone other than a member of the EEOC, the first step is the filing by the person aggrieved of a charge of discrimination with a state or local authority that is authorized to grant or seek relief from or institute criminal action against the alleged unlawful employment practice. 5 By statute a charge of discrimination may not be filed with the EEOC before sixty days have passed from the “cоmmencement of proceedings” before the state or local authority, or the state or local proceedings have terminated, whichever is earlier. 6 By regulation, 7 and the approval of the Supreme Court in Love v. Pullman, 8 a charge, if first filed with the EEOC, must be referred by the EEOC to the appropriate state or local authority for disposition.
The charge also must be filed with the EEOC by a “person aggrieved,” or “on his behalf,” 9 within the earlier of three hundred days after the alleged unlawful emplоyment practice occurred or 30 days after receiving notice that the state or local authority has terminated its proceedings. 10 Within 10 days of the *414 effective filing date with the EEOC, the EEOC must serve notice on the employer advising the employer of the charge. 11 If the charge is not filed by the “person aggrieved” but by some one on “his behalf,” the EEOC verifies that the “person aggrieved” has authorized the charge to be filed on his behalf 12 during the cоurse of its investigation of the basis of the charge, 13 which is made to determine the existence of reasonable cause. This determination must be made “as promptly as possible and, so far as practicable, not later than 120 days from . . . the date upon which the [EEOC] is [empowered] to take action with respect to the charge.” 14
Upon completion of its investigation, the EEOC promptly notifies the parties concеrned of its reasonable cause determination.
15
If the EEOC has determined that there is reasonable cause, as required by
In the ease of a respondent-employer that is a governmental unit, as is the School District defendant, the EEOC must refer the matter to the Attorney General recommending possible civil suit after “[the EEOC] has been unable to secure ... a conciliation agreement acceptable to [it].” 18 There appears to be no statutory requirement that the EEOC wait any particular time interval before it refers the matter to the Attorney General for possible suit. If thе Attorney General institutes suit against the named governmental unit, the “person aggrieved” has a right to intervene. 19
Despite these
1) 180 days have passed frоm the date the charge was filed with the EEOC or from the date the EEOC first had jurisdiction to investigate the charge after referral of the charge to a state or local authority, 21 the EEOC has not entered into a conciliation agreement with the respondent-employer to which the “person aggrieved” is a party 22 or
2) The same time period has elapsed and the EEOC has previously turned over the matter to the Attorney General rеcommending possible suit, 23 but the Attorney General has not filed suit, 24 and
8) In either of these situations the “person aggrieved” has received a notice of right to sue sent in regular course by the EEOC or the Attorney General as the case may be 25 or sent on the demand of the “person aggrieved.” 26
Thus, while it is clear from the above that no such right to demand a notice to sue letter accrues to the “person aggrieved” before the expiration of the 180 day period, it is unclear whether a notice to sue letter may be issued by the Attorney General before the еxpiration of the 180 day period.
Since there was no clear allegation in the complaint that the plaintiff here had a right to sue the defendants on the date that she filed her complaint in this court, defendants have moved to dismiss the claim alleging a violation of
With respect to the instant complaint, the Court has difficulty in discovering whether its jurisdiction under
II.
Motion To Dismiss The
Defendants have also moved to dismiss the plaintiff’s claims asserted under
A. Claim For Money Damages.
The claims for damages under
Therefore, the claims for monetary damages based on
*418 B. Equitable Relief.
Equitable relief also cannot be granted under
Thus, the equitable relief of reinstatement against the District based on
III. Motion For Summary Judgment On Contract Issue.
The defendants have moved for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim for breach of contract. However, aftеr considering this motion, the Court concludes that there are rational opposing inferences which may be drawn from the facts presently existing in the record. To determine which of the inferences are correct calls for a factual determination which is a function of the trier of facts and is not for the Court to solve on the present state of record. Thus, defendants’ summary judgment motion will be denied.
An order will be entered in accordance with this opinion.
Notes
. Plaintiff also alleged thаt her equal rights under the law, pursuant to
On June 28, 1974 the plaintiff filed a motion for a temporary restraining order pursuant to Rule 65(b), F.R.Civ.P., in order to prevent her termination from the post of Acting Supervisor of Personnel on or aftеr July 1, 1974. Following a hearing before this Court, the motion was denied on July 2, 1974.
. While the defendants designated their motion for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(e), F.R.Civ.P., it is actually a 12(b) motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
. Taking the allegations most favorable to plaintiff, she must mean the Board refused to consider her for the newly advertised position of Specialist in personnel and federal programs. (Docket Item 1, Ex. C).
. Stebbins v. Continental Insurance Companies,
. In Delaware, the state department of labor is authorized to take such action. See 19 Del.Code §§ 710-718 (1972 Cum.Supp.), especially § 711(a)(1), (a)(2) ; § 712(c), (e), (g), (h).
.
.
.
.
.
. See 29 CFIi
.
“A charge on behalf of a person . . . aggrieved may be made by any person, agency, or organization. Such charge need not identify by name the person on whose behalf it is made. The person making the charge, however, must provide the Commission with the name and address of the person on whose behalf the charge is made. During the Commission investigation, Commission personnel shall verify the authorization of such charge by the person on whose behalf such charge is made.”
.
. Id. The EEOC may determine that the charge was not timely filed. See 29 CFR § • 1601.19.
. Those notified are the “person aggrieved,” the person who made a charge on his behalf, and the respondent-employer.
.
. Id.
.
.
. The (Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 — Conference Report) Senate Section-by-Section analysis voiced the hope that “the vast majority of complaints will be handled through the offices of the EEOC or the Attorney General, as appropriate.” 118 Cong. Record 7166, 7168. (March 6, 1972).
. See discussion at notes 5-8 supra and accompanying text.
.
. See discussion at note 18 supra and accompanying text.
.
.
. See
. The Court may inquire into its subject matter jurisdiction at any point in the litigation. See Tanzymore v. Bethlehem Steel Corp.,
Surprisingly, authority for the proрosition that a “person aggrieved” must allege in some way in his complaint that the administrative remedy has been exhausted is scarce. See Foye v. United A.G. Stores Cooperative, Inc.,
On the other hand, cases dealing with the specificity of jurisdictional allegations in a suit initiated by the EEOC against non-governmental units are legion. These cases hold that the compliance with conditions precedent in
.
. It appears from a liberal reading of this paragraph that one charge was filed against the Board alleging that it engaged in sex discrimination in employment against some of its employees. If the plaintiff was a member of that group (i. e. one of “person (s) aggrieved”), she may have had the right to demand and receive a notice of right to sue from the EEOC or the Attorney Gеneral on the date her complaint was filed in this Court. See
. Only a right to sue notice, as distinguished from some other form of communication may be sufficient to confer jurisdiction on the federal court.
Compare
Harris v. Sherwood Medical Industries, Inc.,
. 42 U.S.O.
“Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof tо the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.”
“ . . . (3). If two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire for the purpose of depriving, either directly or indirectly, any person or class of persons of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges and immunities undеr the laws; or for the purpose of preventing or hindering the constituted authorities of any State or Territory from giving or securing to all persons within such State or Territory *417 the equal protection of the laws; . . . in any case of conspiracy set forth in this section, if one or more persons engaged therein do, or cause to be done, any act in furtherance of the object of such conspiracy, whereby another is injured in his person or property, or deprived of having and exercising any right or privilege of a citizen of the United States, the parties so injured or deprived may have an action for the recovery of damages, occasioned by such injury or deprivation, against any one or more of the conspirators.”
“Every person who, having knowledge that any of the wrongs conspired to be done, and mentioned insection 1985 of this title, are about to be committed, and having power to prevent or aid in preventing the commission of the same, neglects or refuses so to do, if such wrongful act be committed, shall be liable to the party injured, or his legal representatives, for all damages caused by such wrongful act, which such person by reasonable diligence could have prevented; . . . and any number of persons guilty of such wrongful neglect or refusal may be joined as defendants in the action . . . .”
. There have been post
Monroe
cases that allow a back pay award against the public corporate body, see, e. g., Harkless v. Sweeny Independent School District,