Harrigan v. Sebastian's on the Waterfront, Inc.

629 F. Supp. 102, 41 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1200
CourtDistrict Court, Virgin Islands
DecidedFebruary 13, 1985
DocketCiv. 82/98
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 629 F. Supp. 102 (Harrigan v. Sebastian's on the Waterfront, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, Virgin Islands primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harrigan v. Sebastian's on the Waterfront, Inc., 629 F. Supp. 102, 41 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1200 (vid 1985).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

CHRISTIAN, Chief Judge.

This is an action for damages arising from the alleged discriminatory discharge of the plaintiff from Sebastian’s on the Waterfront, Inc. (“Sebastian’s”). In his complaint plaintiff asserts causes of action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.), 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The cause is before the Court on motion of the plaintiff to join James A. Bridgeman, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sebastian’s as a defendant in this action. 1

I. Joinder Under Title VII

Bridgeman maintains that he was not named in the plaintiff’s Equal Employment and Opportunity Charge (EEOC) and, therefore, may not be added as a defendant in the instant action.

Title VII employment discrimination suits are permitted only “against the respondent named in the charge” before the Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission. This requirement is jurisdictional. Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co. 415 U.S. 36, 47, 94 S.Ct. 1011, 1019, 39 L.Ed.2d 147 (1974). This requirement insures that the charged party is notified of the alleged violation. In addition the parties are brought before the Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission and encouraged to voluntarily comply with the act. Eggleston v. Chicago Journeyman Plumbers, *104 657 F.2d 890 (7th Cir.1981) cert. den. 455 U.S. 1017, 102 S.Ct. 1710, 72 L.Ed.2d 134 (1982); Le Beau v. Libby-Owens Ford Company, 484 F.2d 798, 799 (7th Cir.1973).

Resolution of this motion is governed by Glus v. G.C. Murphy, 562 F.2d 880 (3rd Cir.1977). In Glus, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit established four criteria which must be satisfied before a party not named in the plaintiffs EEOC proceeding may subsequently be added as a defendant in a suit brought in the district court. The factors to be considered are:

1. Whether the role of the unnamed party could through reasonable effort by the complainant be ascertained at the time of the filing of the EEOC complaint;
2. Whether under the circumstances, the interest of a named party are so similar as the unnamed party’s that for the purpose of obtaining voluntary conciliation and compliance it would be unnecessary to include the unnamed party in the EEOC proceeding;
3. Whether the unnamed party’s absence from the EEOC proceedings resulted in actual prejudice to the interest of the unnamed party; and
4. Whether the unnamed party has in some way represented to the complainant that his relationship with the complainant is to be through the named party.

Id. at 888

The plaintiff claims that an identity of interest existed between Sebastian’s and Bridgeman because Bridgeman was the Chairman of the Board of Directors and owned stock in the corporation. These facts are admitted by Bridgeman, but are clearly insufficient to support a finding of an identity of interest.

Bridgeman testified at his deposition that he and the general manager jointly decided to remove the plaintiff from his position of manager of the coffee shop at Sebastian’s. Both men were present when the plaintiff was informed of their decision. Accordingly, we are impelled to the conclusion that no identity of interest existed between Sebastian’s and Bridgeman.

We conclude, therefore, that plaintiff may not add Bridgeman as a defendant to his cause of action based upon Title VII. Thus, we need not discuss the application of the other Glus factors to the instant action.

II. Joinder Under £2 U.S.C. § 1981

The plaintiff was removed from his position as coffee shop manager in November, 1980. He filed the above captioned action in this Court on April 12, 1982 naming only Sebastian’s as defendant. On July 30, 1985, the plaintiff filed the instant motion requesting to add Bridgeman as a defendant. Accordingly, resolution of the plaintiff’s motion requires that we first determine the applicable statute of limitations under 42 U.S.C. § 1981.

The Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts do not contain a specific statute of limitation governing § 1981 actions. Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, 421 U.S. 454, 462, 95 S.Ct. 1716, 1721, 44 L.Ed.2d 295 (1971). It is well settled that when Congress has not established a time limitation for a federal cause of action, the court must adopt the most analogous state statute of limitation if it is not inconsistent with federal law or policy to do so. See, e.g., Wilson v. Garcia, — U.S. -, 105 S.Ct. 1938, 85 L.Ed.2d 254 (1985); Runyon v. McCary, 427 U.S. 160, 180-82, 96 S.Ct. 2586, 2599, 2600, 49 L.Ed.2d 415 (1976); Autoworkers v. Hoosier Cardinal Corp., 383 U.S. 696, 86 S.Ct. 1107, 16 L.Ed.2d 192 (1966). See also, 42 U.S.C. § 1988. In the past, such suits were characterized in terms of the specific facts generating a particular case and the Court would then apply the appropriate statute of limitation. See, e.g., Deary v. Three Un-Named Police Officers, 746 F.2d 185 (3rd Cir.1984); Davis v. United States Steel Supply, 581 F.2d 335 (3rd Cir.1978); Webster v. Government of the Virgin Islands, 17 VI 498 (D.V.I.1980).

Recently the Supreme Court held that the proper characterization of actions under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 was a “question of federal law” and that “[o]nly the length of *105 the limitations period and closely related questions of tolling and application are governed by state law.” Wilson v. Garcia, 105 S.Ct. at 1943.

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Bluebook (online)
629 F. Supp. 102, 41 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1200, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harrigan-v-sebastians-on-the-waterfront-inc-vid-1985.