Bridgeport Guardians, Inc. v. Delmonte

256 F.R.D. 308, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19806, 2009 WL 650376
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedMarch 12, 2009
DocketCivil No. 5:78cv175 (JBA)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 256 F.R.D. 308 (Bridgeport Guardians, Inc. v. Delmonte) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bridgeport Guardians, Inc. v. Delmonte, 256 F.R.D. 308, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19806, 2009 WL 650376 (D. Conn. 2009).

Opinion

[310]*310RULING ON MOTIONS TO INTERVENE

JANET BOND ARTERTON, District Judge.

More than twenty-five years after judgment entered in this case involving race discrimination in the Bridgeport Police Department (“BPD”), several individuals have moved, pursuant to Federal Rule of Procedure 24(a)(2), to intervene and object to an order proposed jointly by the Bridgeport Guardians, Inc. (“Guardians”) and the City of Bridgeport (“City”). In their Joint Proposed Order [Doc. # 1743], the Guardians and the City sought an eighteen-month interim modification to the 1983 remedial order, having the objective of achieving sufficiently changed circumstances to justify termination of that order. Before the Court are two motions related to that joint proposal, one brought by eight1 BPD officers seeking promotion to the rank of detective, and another brought by a civilian intending to apply for an entry-level position within the BPD. In both motions, the putative intervenors (collectively, “Movants”) purport to act for themselves and all others similarly situated. The Court held oral argument on the first of these motions on November 4, 2008, during which the Court heard from the Movants, the Guardians, the City, and the Bridgeport Police Union (“Union”), and as the result of which the grounds for intervention became clarified and refined.

Contemporaneous with this ruling, the Court has also entered an Interim Modification Order [Doc. # 1824] which substantially tracks the Joint Proposed Order. Directing the Movants’ concerns to this Interim Modification Order, the question is whether the Movants have asserted an interest in this action — direct, substantial, and legally pro-tectable — which, absent intervention, risks being impaired by the disposition of the action. As explained more fully below, the Court concludes that the Movants have failed to establish a sufficient basis for intervention.

I. Relevant Background

In 1982, after a bench trial in this case, Judge Daly held that the Defendants had discriminated against black and Hispanic police officers, in violation of Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by (1) assigning officers to specialized divisions, (2) assigning officers to the various geographical areas of the City, (3) pairing officers, (4) imposing discipline, (5) fostering a hostile work environment, and (6) retaliating against members of the Guardians, all on the basis of race. Bridgeport Guardians, Inc. v. Del-monte, 553 F.Supp. 601, 609-18 (D.Conn. 1982). To remedy these violations, Judge Daly issued an order (the “Remedy Order”) weeks later which set out new procedures for pairing officers and assigning officers among the specialized and geographic units. Id. at 618- 19. The Remedy Order also established a rotation system to ensure equal access to the specialized divisions regardless of race, and also confirmed that the City “shall not discriminate on the basis of race in the initiation of disciplinary charges or imposition of penalties” and “shall not subject any police officer to harassment, disciplinary action or different treatment of any kind because of such officer’s race.” Id. at 619. Judge Daly further directed that a special master would be appointed, ordered fees and costs to the Plaintiffs, and noted that the Court would “maintain continuing jurisdiction in this matter to insure complete and continuing compliance with all aspects of this Order.” Id. at 619- 21.

Leaping ahead a quarter of a century, in July 2008 the City moved pursuant to Rule 60(b) to vacate the Remedy Order [Doc. # 1717] on the ground that changed circumstances render the terms of that order no longer applicable or necessary. Prompted in part by this motion, the Guardians and the City then engaged in discussions, under the auspices of Magistrate Judge Holly B. Fitz-simmons, which produced a joint proposal addressing the concerns raised by the Rule 60 motion. After a hearing with all parties to the litigation, the Guardians and the City [311]*311submitted the Joint Proposed Order. This revised proposal is the substantive basis for the Court’s Interim Modification Order, the impact of which will be reviewed after September 1, 2010 on motion by any party. Omitting provisions not implicated by the motions to intervene, the Interim Modification Order reads, in relevant part:

1. Promotions and Hiring. The City shall evaluate all promotional and entry-level hiring examinations to determine whether the examination results and selection procedures evidence a disparate impact on black or other minority candidates. The City shall take all appropriate and available steps to reduce any disparate impact of examinations or procedures on minority candidates by utilizing race-neutral measures, including the appropriate weighting of the oral and written portions of the examination to reduce the disparate impact while preserving the validity and usefulness of the examination.
2. New Recruit Hiring. With regard to any entry-level hiring list created by the City between the effective date of this Order and September 1, 2010, the City shall evaluate all entry-level hiring examinations to determine whether the examination results or procedures evidence a disparate impact on minorities. The City shall attempt to reduce any identified disparate impact on minority candidates by utilizing race-neutral measures, including the appropriate weighting of the oral and written portions of the examination to reduce the disparate impact while preserving the validity and usefulness of the examination. In addition, the City, through the Chief of Police, may, within the Interim Period and notwithstanding any contrary provisions of the Bridgeport City Charter and/or the Civil Service Rules and Regulations, interview candidates to determine their suitability for employment. The City, through the Chief of Police, shall be empowered, notwithstanding the provisions of the Bridgeport City Charter and/or the Civil Service Rules and Regulations, to suspend the “rule of one” in selecting a recruit class from any existing and newly created hiring lists during this Interim Period. The Court will consider at the conclusion of the Interim Period whether a permanent suspension is warranted to eliminate barriers to equal employment opportunity.
3. Recruitment. The City shall allocate the payments identified in paragraph 10 to a fund to be created and dedicated for the recruitment of minority and female candidates for entry-level positions. These payments may not be used to reduce the Bridgeport Police Department’s current expenditures, but shall constitute “new money” for this purpose. The funds shall be expended by the Chief of Police for appropriate recruitment efforts conducted by departmental personnel and/or qualified neutral third parties mutually agreed to by the City and the Guardians.
4. Geographic Rotations. The Remedy Order provisions mandating geographic rotation of patrol officers are hereby suspended and the Chief of Police shall have discretion to rotate officers throughout the geographic sectors of the City in a race-neutral manner____
9. Files of the Special Master.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Bridgeport Guardians, Inc. v. Delmonte
602 F.3d 469 (Second Circuit, 2010)
Bridgeport Guardians, Inc. v. Delmonte
620 F. Supp. 2d 337 (D. Connecticut, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
256 F.R.D. 308, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19806, 2009 WL 650376, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bridgeport-guardians-inc-v-delmonte-ctd-2009.