Ingram v. Madison Square Garden Center, Inc.

535 F. Supp. 1082, 32 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 548, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11992, 29 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 32,726
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 23, 1982
DocketNos. 76 CIV 5870 (LBS), 78 CIV 1453 (LBS)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 535 F. Supp. 1082 (Ingram v. Madison Square Garden Center, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ingram v. Madison Square Garden Center, Inc., 535 F. Supp. 1082, 32 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 548, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11992, 29 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 32,726 (S.D.N.Y. 1982).

Opinion

OPINION

SAND, District Judge.

This is the latest Opinion in a case which has spawned numerous Opinions. Although the background of this litigation has been summarized in these prior Opinions of the Court, a general restatement of the factual context of this case is appropriate at this concluding stage of the proceedings. For a more detailed discussion of the facts of this case, see Ingram v. Madison Square Garden Ctr., Inc., 482 F.Supp. 414 (S.D.N.Y.1979).1

Two separate cases were brought by two classes, which together comprise all black and Hispanic persons who have been or will in the future be employed as “cleaners” by the defendants Madison Square Garden Center, Inc. (“Center, Inc.”), Madison Square Garden Corporation (“Garden Corp.”), Allied Maintenance Corporation (“AMC”), and Allied Public Events Service Corporation (“Allied”). Local # 3, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (“Local 3”, “the union,” “the defendant”) Was also named as a defendant in these actions.

Plaintiffs allege that the defendant violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and 1871, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1985 respectively, by engaging in a pattern of hiring and employment practices which made it impossible for class [1086]*1086members to secure the higher paying and generally more desirable position of “laborer” at Madison Square Garden (“the Garden”). Prior to the trial, Center, Inc., Garden Corp., AMC and Allied all entered into a proposed Consent Decree which was subsequently approved by the Court. See Ingram, 482 F.Supp. 426 (S.D.N.Y.1979). The consolidated trial of the two actions was limited to the issue of Local 3’s liability under the employment discrimination statutes involved.

In its Opinion of October 3, 1979, the Court dismissed the plaintiffs’ § 1985 claims and dealt with the various jurisdictional and statute of limitations issues which the defendant interposed as defenses. See Ingram, 482 F.Supp. 414 (S.D.N.Y. 1979). The Court held that the manner in which Local 3 referred workers to the Garden for employment as laborers violated both Title VII and § 1981. The Court agreed with the'plaintiffs’ contention that the union, which is the bargaining agent for the laborers at the Garden, and which referred prospective employees to the Garden for employment as laborers, employed a completely subjective and standardless referral policy, relying almost entirely on word of mouth favoritism, that operated to discriminate against class members by preventing them from becoming laborers. The Court found that the plaintiffs in the first of the two consolidated class actions, the “Ingram” plaintiffs, were entitled to recover under § 1981 only, while the plaintiffs in the second action, the “Anderson” plaintiffs, were entitled to recover under both Title VII and § 1981.

On December 13, 1979, the Court filed an Opinion establishing guidelines with respect to damages, and found that, as a general matter, awards of backpay, retroactive seniority, and attorneys’ fees are appropriate in this action. See Ingram, 482 F.Supp. 918 (S.D.N.Y.1979). Plaintiffs’ request for prospective injunctive relief was granted, subject to certain modifications. The Court explained that class members could demonstrate that they are actual victims by proving a desire for referral as a laborer which was expressed to Local 3 or, alternatively, by proving that they were qualified for a laborer’s position and that they would have applied for a referral had it not been for the discriminatory practices. See id. at 922-23. The case was referred to Magistrate Kent Sinclair, Jr. who, in accordance with the general standards outlined in the Opinion, was requested to make recommendations to the Court as to both the entitlement of individual class members to relief and the amount appropriately chargeable to the defendant for attorneys’ fees and costs.

On April 18, 1980, the Magistrate issued “Preliminary Findings” as to retroactive seniority dates for class members who had obtained laborers’ positions. These findings were affirmed by this Court on May 5,1980 without prejudice to such review as the Court should choose to make at the end of the remedial process. See Ingram, Nos. 76-5870, 78-1453 (S.D.N.Y. May 5, 1980).

On November 21, 1980, the Magistrate issued “Findings of Fact” concerning the desire dates and other eligibility determinations respecting seniority for those class members who had come forward to request affirmative relief.

On December 8,1980, Magistrate Sinclair issued an “Interim Order on Monetary Relief” containing a discussion of the backpay formula adopted therein and a summary of the status and expected treatment of open items in connection with the relief aspects of the litigation. The method of computing wage loss which the Magistrate adopted involved comparing each victim’s actual compensation with the average compensation of an appropriate group of comparison laborers during the period of discrimination.

The Magistrate issued “Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations on Back Pay” on July 27, 1981, which contained his final recommendations with respect to relief other than attorney’s fees. This report offered resolutions to the remaining remedy issues and proposed specific monetary awards for those class members who were found to be victims of Local 3’s discriminatory referral policy.

[1087]*1087On October 23, 1981, the Magistrate issued a “Report Containing Findings and Recommendations Re Plaintiffs’ Fee Application.” On November 10,1981, the Magistrate filed two final Orders, one recommending a specific amount for attorneys’ fees, and the other denying the defendant’s motion to reopen the record.

All objections to Magistrate Sinclair’s findings and recommendations have been deferred until the conclusion of the proceedings before the Magistrate. Both the plaintiffs and the defendant have now submitted such objections pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b) and the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Rules for Proceeding Before Magistrates, Rule 7.

Before discussing these exceptions to the Magistrate’s reports, we address the question whether the legal standard for a finding of § 1981 liability has changed since the Court found Local 3 liable under that statute in 1979. The Court will next consider defendant’s motion to reopen the record in this action.

Legal developments since the time this Court issued its Opinion of October 3, 1979 require a further elaboration of the finding of liability under § 1981. Currently pending before the Supreme Court of the United States is a case which squarely poses the heretofore unsettled question of whether the establishment of a prima facie case of a § 1981 violation requires a showing of the defendant’s intent to discriminate. See Guardians Ass’n of New York City v. Civil Service Commission of the City of New York, cert granted - U.S. -, 102 S.Ct. 997, 71 L.Ed.2d 291 (1982).

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Related

Ingram v. Madison Square Garden Center, Inc.
709 F.2d 807 (Second Circuit, 1983)

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Bluebook (online)
535 F. Supp. 1082, 32 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 548, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11992, 29 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 32,726, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ingram-v-madison-square-garden-center-inc-nysd-1982.