Coles v. Cilco Terminal Co.

668 F. Supp. 720, 43 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 631, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16384
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedDecember 16, 1986
DocketCiv. A. No. B-84-300 (TFGD)
StatusPublished

This text of 668 F. Supp. 720 (Coles v. Cilco Terminal Co.) 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
Coles v. Cilco Terminal Co., 668 F. Supp. 720, 43 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 631, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16384 (D. Conn. 1986).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

DALY, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff, James Coles (Coles), filed this action against defendant, Cilco Terminal [721]*721Co., Inc. (Cilco) on May 7, 1984 alleging a deprivation of rights secured by 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (Title VII) and 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Specifically, plaintiff in his June 29, 1984 amended complaint charges defendant with maintaining a policy and practice of discrimination against blacks with respect to the privileges and conditions of employment, thereby depriving him of equal employment opportunities because of his race. Plaintiff further charges that following his filing of a complaint with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the defendant retaliated by refusing to give plaintiff further job assignments at defendant’s terminal. At the close of trial on September 30, 1985, the Court instructed the parties to submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. Having reviewed these submissions and the evidence introduced at trial, the Court holds that plaintiff has failed to produce sufficient evidence of either a § 1981 or Title VII claim. In support of its holding, the Court sets forth the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Plaintiff is a black citizen of the United States and was employed by the defendant when the alleged discrimination occurred. Defendant is an employer engaged in an industry affecting commerce and, when the alleged statutory violations took place, employed more than fifteen employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.

2. Plaintiff began working for defendant in 1978 as a longshoreman, unloading ships, moving material in the shipyard, and performing other miscellaneous duties when needed. On January 20, 1983, the defendant stopped assigning the plaintiff to longshore duty on ships entering its terminal. Plaintiff’s amended complaint at 1110. Defendant’s decision not to give the plaintiff work assignments was due to plaintiff’s argumentative and disruptive behavior, inability to work with fellow employees in a compatible manner, and refusal to accept certain job assignments. At times, plaintiff’s behavior endangered the safety of other employees. Although the defendant failed to notify plaintiff of its decision, the Court finds that in light of the testimony entered at trial plaintiff’s employment with defendant was terminated on January 20, 1983. Prior to termination with Cilco, the plaintiff had been assigned to various tasks at the terminal on a regular basis for approximately six years.

3. On January 28, 1983, the plaintiff filed a complaint with the CHRO and EEOC alleging a denial of equal terms and conditions of employment. Plaintiff’s Exhibit # 1. The CHRO on March 29, 1983 issued a finding of no cause and summary and dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint for lack of sufficient evidence. Thereafter, the EEOC issued a notice of right to sue and indicated that “no reasonable cause was found to believe that the allegations made in the charge are true.”

4. Plaintiff filed on May 24, 1983 a second complaint with the CHRO and EEOC alleging defendant’s retaliation for his previous agency complaints in that defendant refused to assign him to work crews when work was available. Plaintiff’s Exhibit #2. The CHRO, for lack of sufficient evidence, and the EEOC, for a lack of reasonable cause to believe the truth of the charge, dismissed the second complaint, as well. See Plaintiff’s Exhibit # 3.

5. Since 1978, defendant has implemented an Affirmative Action Program resulting in an equal or higher percentage of blacks in defendant’s employ than the percentage of blacks in the general population. This fact was undisputed at trial.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1. For purposes of Title VII, the plaintiff is an “employee” as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(f), and the defendant is an “employer” as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b). All other conditions precedent to jurisdiction including exhaustion of administrative remedies have been met.

2. Plaintiff’s complaint and the evidence presented at trial indicate that plain[722]*722tiff has chosen to prosecute his Title VII claim under a theory of disparate treatment, see McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), rather than under a theory of disparate impact or effect, see Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424, 91 S.Ct. 849, 28 L.Ed.2d 158 (1971).1 As the Second Circuit has recently noted, the standard for liability in a disparate treatment case is the same under both § 19812 and Title VII. Martin v. Citibank, N.A., 762 F.2d 212, 216, 217 (2d Cir.1985) (the standard to be applied is outlined in McDonnell Douglas v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1824, 36 L.Ed.2d 668).

Initially, a plaintiff bears the burden of establishing a prima facie case of racial discrimination, which requires, in essence, that [he] show that [he] belongs to a racial minority and that [he] was treated differently than similarly-situated whites. Once plaintiff has established a prima facie case, it then falls to the defendant to provide a non-discriminatory reason for its action, whereupon the burden shifts back to the plaintiff to show that the employer’s articulated reasons are pretextual. See Texas Dep’t of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 252-56, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1093-95, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981).

Id. at 217. Plaintiff, a black citizen, clearly belongs to a racial minority. The second element requiring that plaintiff prove he was treated differently than similarly-situated whites, however, received scant attention at trial and in plaintiff’s pleadings. While plaintiff’s complaint alleges a policy and practice of discrimination against blacks, no evidence was introduced indicating that blacks had been treated differently than whites at the Cilco terminal other than evidence introduced through plaintiffs testimony. Such testimony, if found to be true, shows that there had been openings at the Cilco terminal for which plaintiff was qualified, defendant overlooked plaintiff for assignment, and defendant’s decision not to so assign plaintiff was racially motivated. Nowhere does plaintiff identify similarly-situated whites who were treated differently to buttress his claim.

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668 F. Supp. 720, 43 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 631, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16384, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coles-v-cilco-terminal-co-ctd-1986.