Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Evans Fruit Co.

872 F. Supp. 2d 1107, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72836, 95 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 44,513, 115 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 193
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Washington
DecidedMay 24, 2012
DocketNo. CV-10-3033-LRS
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 872 F. Supp. 2d 1107 (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Evans Fruit Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Evans Fruit Co., 872 F. Supp. 2d 1107, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72836, 95 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 44,513, 115 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 193 (E.D. Wash. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER RE EVANS FRUIT CO., INC.’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, INTER ALIA

LONNY R. SUKO, District Judge.

BEFORE THE COURT is Evans Fruit Co., Inc.’s Motion For Summary Judgment (ECF No. 568) and Plaintiff EEOC’s Motion For Partial Summary Judgment (ECF No. 549). These motions were heard with oral argument on May 17, 2012.

BACKGROUND

EEOC asks the court to find as a matter of law that it satisfied all the preconditions to bringing suit against Evans Fruit under Title VII (ECF No. 549). One of the preconditions of suit is an attempt to conciliate the charges of unlawful discrimination. Evans Fruit asks the court to find as a matter of law that EEOC made no attempt to conciliate the unlawful discrimination claims of 17 class members. With one exception (Elodia Sanchez), all of these class members were first named as additional class members in EEOC’s First Amended Complaint filed November 29, 2011. Besides Elodia Sanchez, the other class members whose claims Evans Fruit alleges were not conciliated include: Carina Miranda Gutierrez, Esmeralda Aviles, Vanessa Aviles, Lidia Sierra Bravo, Ester Abarca, Danelia Barajas, Cecilia Lua, Magdalena Alvarez, Maria Carmen Zaragoza, Eufrocina Hernandez, Maria Dolores Sagal, Veronica Reyna, Silvia Izquierdo, Jennifer Ruiz, Leonor Hernandez, and Diana Barajas. Evans Fruit asks that the Title VII claims of these 17 women be dismissed.

[1109]*1109There appears to be no dispute that EEOC based its lawsuit on a timely and valid charge of discrimination and properly notified Evans Fruit about the discrimination charges against it. What Evans Fruit disputes is whether prior to filing suit, the EEOC could have conducted any investigation of the claims of the 17 class members (16 of whom were first named in the First Amended Complaint), could have issued a “reasonable cause” determination as to them, and could have conciliated their claims since the EEOC (with the exception of Elodia Sanchez) did not know who these women were before it originally filed suit in June 2010. Elodia Sanchez is named as a class member in EEOC’s original complaint filed in June 2010, but Evans Fruit maintains there was no attempt by EEOC to conciliate her hostile work environment claim prior to the filing of the suit in June 2010. According to Evans Fruit, in the course of pre-suit conciliation efforts, EEOC specifically identified only eight women: Jacqueline Abundez, Angela Mendoza, Wendy Granados, Wendy Roboloreo, Alida Miranda, Norma Valdez, Maria Ines Vargas Herrera, and Laurelia (Aurelia) Garcia. Evans Fruit also seeks dismissal of these women, contending that although conciliation was attempted with regard to them, it was not a “good faith” attempt.

DISCUSSION

Relying on a recent Eighth Circuit case, EEOC v. CRST Van Expedited, Inc., 679 F.3d 657 (8th Cir.2012)1, and a case out of the Southern District of California, EEOC v. Dillard’s Inc., 2011 WL 2784516 (S.D.Cal., July 14, 2011), Evans Fruit contends EEOC was obligated to discover and identify the aforementioned 17 class members during the course of its administrative investigation and attempt to conciliate their claims before it filed its lawsuit in June 2010. Instead, Evans Fruit says EEOC filed this case and improperly waited to use federal court discovery to search for class members. Evans Fruit contends that because the conciliation requirement is jurisdictional in nature, dismissal of the 17 Title VII claims is necessary.

EEOC does not dispute the Eight Circuit’s holding in CRST, but contends that requiring the EEOC to identify every potential victim before filing suit is unsupported by the language of Title VII and conflicts with all but one of the circuit courts (8th Circuit) that have addressed the question. EEOC cites to decisions from some other circuit courts, but the Ninth Circuit is not among them. Evans Fruit, as well, does not cite to any Ninth Circuit decision on this issue, acknowledging the Ninth Circuit has not provided a standard for district courts to apply when evaluating whether the EEOC has met its statutory obligation to conciliate in good faith.

Dillard’s did not rely on a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, but on a district court decision out of the Southern District of Indiana, EEOC v. Jillian’s of Indianapolis, IN, Inc., 279 F.Supp.2d 974, 980 (S.D.Ind.2003), for its conclusion that “the EEOC may seek relief on behalf of individuals beyond the charging parties and for alleged wrongdoing beyond those originally charged; however, the EEOC must discover such individuals and wrongdoing during the course of its investigation.” 2011 WL 2784516 at *6 (emphasis in text). In Dillard’s, the district court concluded the EEOC’s investigation was insufficient to notify Dillard’s that it potentially faced claims on behalf of a nationwide class and therefore, did not provide an adequate op[1110]*1110portunity to conciliate nationwide class claims. That did not, however, preclude class claims on behalf of unidentified class members who were current and former employees of the El Centro store. The Dillard’s court did not adopt a rule requiring all alleged victims be identified before EEOC commences a lawsuit and their specific claims be conciliated. According to the court:

Title VII requires the EEOC to notify employers of and provide them an opportunity to conciliate all claims against them before initiating a civil suit in federal court. Here, except for one inquiry as to whether the policy in question was companywide, the EEOC’s investigation focused entirely on Dillard’s El Centro store. Similarly, except for suggested changes to Dillard’s companywide disability discrimination policy the EEOC’s conciliation efforts focused on two individuals — [Corina] Scott and [Brittany] Rios Kim — both of whom worked at the El Centro store. Although communications from the EEOC to Dillard’s refer generically to other “similarly-situated” individuals, the EEOC provided no affirmative indication during its investigation or conciliation efforts that its allegations might result in nationwide claims on behalf, of current and former Dillard’s employees. Thus, the EEOC’s pre-litigation efforts failed to- provide sufficient notice that Dillard’s potentially faced claims on behalf of a nationwide class. The scope of EEOC’s pre-litigation efforts was sufficient, however to put Dillard’s on notice of possible claims on behalf of current and former employees of its El Centro store. See [EEOC v.] Outback [Steak House of Florida, Inc.], 520 F.Supp.2d [1250] at 1267 [ (D.Colo.2007) ] (where the investigation focused on a three state region, the EEOC’s references to “Charging Parities] and a class of females” may have put defendants on notice of a potential regional class, but not a potential nationwide class); Jillian’s, 279 F.Supp.2d at 983 (the reference in the EEOC’s determination to a “class of similarly-situated male employees and applicants” provided sufficient notice of a potential “local class”).

Id. at *8 (emphasis added).

To the extent Dillard’s motion sought to limit the EEOC’s claims to current and former employees of the El Centro Store, it was granted by the court.

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872 F. Supp. 2d 1107, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72836, 95 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 44,513, 115 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 193, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/equal-employment-opportunity-commission-v-evans-fruit-co-waed-2012.