Disparte v. Corporate Executive Board

223 F.R.D. 7, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15997, 2004 WL 1814023
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedAugust 13, 2004
DocketNo. CIV.A.03-01561 RBW
StatusPublished
Cited by55 cases

This text of 223 F.R.D. 7 (Disparte v. Corporate Executive Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Disparte v. Corporate Executive Board, 223 F.R.D. 7, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15997, 2004 WL 1814023 (D.D.C. 2004).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

WALTON, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Defendant’s Motion to Sever the Action Into Three Separate Actions pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 20 and 21, the Plaintiffs’ Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Sever the Action Into Three Separate Actions (“Pis.’ Opp.”), the Plaintiffs’ Supplemental Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Sever the Action Into Three Separate Actions (“Pis.’ Supp. Mem.”), and the Defendant’s Reply Memorandum in Support of Its Motion to Sever the Action Into Three Separate Actions (“Def.’s Reply”). Upon consideration of the parties’ submissions, the Court concludes that the defendant’s motion should be granted in part and denied in part.

I. Background

On July 21, 2003, plaintiffs Dante Disparte (“Disparte”), Rodney Cobb (“Cobb”), and [9]*9Wali F. Muhammad (“Muhammad”), filed a complaint against the defendant alleging intentional discrimination in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, and unlawful employment discrimination in violation of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act, D.C.Code Ann. § 2-1402.11. Complaint (“Compl.”) UU 61-77.

Disparte began working for the defendant, the Corporate Executive Board (“CEB”), as an Administrative Assistant on August 21, 2000. Id. U 9. Disparte was promoted to the position of Marketing Associate on February 15, 2001, and was again promoted to the Account Manager position of the Member Services Department (“MSD”) of the Corporate Strategy Board on February 29, 2002. Id. 1113-15.1 Approximately two months later, Disparte was placed on a type of probation called “focus for performance” by Doug Haines (“Haines”), the Associate Director of the MSD. Id. 1116. Seven weeks later, Haines wrote a “Summary of Focus Performance,” which noted improvements in Disparte’s performance but nonetheless “provide[d] the supposed basis for Disparte’s [alleged] termination.” Id. UU 17-18. Specifically, Disparte was accused of not being present at his desk, for using informal communication procedures, for only working regular work hours, and needing assistance to conduct member telephone calls. Id. U18. Disparte tried to “salvage” his job by meeting with managerial personnel and claiming that his race and not his performance was the basis for what he characterizes as his termination. Id. U 25.2 On the day prior to his departure, Disparte was placed in a job “where he was to perform menial work, with responsibilities less than those he was given two years earlier____” Id. U 27. As a result of this assignment, Disparte contends that he was “embarrassed and humiliated” and he therefore obtained employment with another employer. Id. U28. Disparte was subsequently replaced by the defendant with a Caucasian. Id. U 29.

Cobb began working for the defendant in October of 2000, as an Operations Associate in the Operations Department. Id. U 32. Cobb was promoted in February 2001, to the position of Operations Coordinator at a branch office of the CEB located at 1875 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Id. U 33. At that time, Jessica Caceres (“Caceres”) was the Operations Director and Lisa Herold was the Operations Manager. Id. U 35. Cobb alleges that he was later reassigned to a lower level position and was denied a promotion. Id. UU 44-A5.3 As to the promotion denial, Cobb contends that the Information Processing Department did not want to employ members of the Operations Department, who were all African Americans, and that the position Cobb sought was given to a Caucasian woman. Id. U45. Eventually, Cobb’s employment was terminated by the defendant. Id. U 48.

Muhammad was hired by the defendant as an Operations Assistant in June of 1999. Id. U 50. He was commended for his performance in this position by Ms. Caceres. Id. UU 51-53. In March 2002, Muhammad met with Caceres and Associate. Director Kevin Goode (“Goode”), an African American, for his annual job performance review. Id. U 56. During the review, Muhammad was told that he would receive a raise and a promotion. Id. Muhammad took the opportunity at that time to offer constructive criticism of Ca-ceres’ leadership skills. Id. As an analogy he used to illustrate Caceres’ supervisory deficiency, Muhammad told a “story about a Queen who made rules for the peasants to follow, but never came into the kingdom to [10]*10see how the rules worked.” Pis.’ Supp. Mem. at 7 (citing the Deposition of Wali Muhammad (“Muhammad Dep.”) at 6-11)4 The next day, to Muhammad’s surprise, his employment was terminated, allegedly because his job performance “only met expectations.” Compl. 1T 57. It was later discovered, however, that Goode found Muhammad’s criticisms of Caceres threatening and was of the view that Muhammad should be terminated. Pis.’ Supp. Mem. at 7-8. Goode discussed the matter with Jim Fenton, id. at 7, the Chief Administrative Officer at the CEB, a member of the CEB’s Executive Committee, and the highest ranking leader of the Talent Management Department, id. at 3, 5, and it was decided that Muhammad’s employment should be terminated. Id. at 7.

As further proof of their discrimination claims, the plaintiffs note that Fenton occupied all of the above positions when all three of the plaintiffs were terminated. Id. at 3-4. In June of 2001, Fenton had directed another Talent Management officer, Erin Morrisey-Lauer, to conduct a wholesale review of the management of the Operations Department, where plaintiffs Cobb and Muhammad worked at the time. Pis.’ Supp. Mem. at 3-4 (internal citations omitted). A review of the Operations Department management in 2001 revealed that the department’s staff of mostly African Americans identified racial issues as a problem within the department. Id. at 4.5 After meeting with Caceres regarding the results of the review, Fenton and Morrisey-Lauer eventually hired Goode. Id. at 5. Goode allegedly told Cobb that “he was brought to the Corporate Executive Board as a Black man who would be responsible for firing Black people under the direction of the White staff.” Deposition of Rodney Cobb (“Cobb Depo.”) at 327-328.

II. Standard of Review

A. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20(a)

“The well-established policy underlying permissive joinder is to promote trial convenience and expedite the resolution of lawsuits.” Puricelli v. CNA Insurance Co., 185 F.R.D. 139, 142 (N.D.N.Y.1999). Multiple claims are properly joined if they (1) “aris[e] out of the same transaction or occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences and (2) if any question of law or fact common to all [the plaintiffs] will arise in the action.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 20(a).

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223 F.R.D. 7, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15997, 2004 WL 1814023, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/disparte-v-corporate-executive-board-dcd-2004.