James v. KID Broadcasting Corp.

559 F. Supp. 1153, 38 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 439, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18536
CourtDistrict Court, D. Idaho
DecidedMarch 15, 1983
DocketCiv. 82-4022
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 559 F. Supp. 1153 (James v. KID Broadcasting Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Idaho primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
James v. KID Broadcasting Corp., 559 F. Supp. 1153, 38 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 439, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18536 (D. Idaho 1983).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION

CALLISTER, Chief Judge.

The plaintiff in this action claims to be the victim of age and religious discrimination. He has filed suit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq., and Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. The defendant, KID Broadcasting Corporation . (KID), responded' by filing a motion to dismiss. KID’s motion makes three principal allegations: (1) that plaintiff’s action is barred by the applicable statute of limitations; (2) that certain elements of damage claimed by the plaintiff are not permitted in Title VII and ADEA actions; (3) that the plaintiff’s pendent state claims are improper. The Court will consider each of these charges beginning with the statute of limitations issue.

KID first alleges the plaintiff has not properly pled allegations concerning plaintiff’s exhaustion of state remedies. The plaintiff admits that his initial complaint did not contain sufficient exhaustion allegations, but has since filed a motion for amended complaint in which he alleges that he filed a complaint with the Idaho Human Rights Commission. That Commission considered plaintiff’s claim, found that it had no merit, and dismissed it. Courts have allowed plaintiffs to amend their complaints to allege the fulfillment of exhaustion requirements. See Kasey v. Molybdenum Corp. of America, 467 F.2d 1284 (9th Cir.1972); Rohler v. TRW, Inc., 576 F.2d 1260 (7th Cir.1978). The Court will therefore grant plaintiff’s motion to amend, and finds that KID’s claims that the exhaustion of state remedies was not properly pled are not well taken. The remainder of this opinion will concern this amended complaint.

KID next alleges that plaintiff’s Title VII and ADEA claims are untimely under 29 U.S.C. §§ 626, 633(b), and 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5. Both of these provisions require a plaintiff to file an administrative charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Council (EEOC) within 300 days after the unlawful practice occurred. KID argues that a number of alleged incidents contained in plaintiff’s amended complaint occurred more than 300 days before the plaintiff filed his administrative Title VII and ADEA charges with the EEOC on January 19,1981. Specifically, paragraphs 5, 6, *1155 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of plaintiff’s amended complaint allege specific and separable incidents, all of which occurred more than 300 days before the plaintiff filed his EEOC claims. The only specific allegation made in plaintiff’s amended complaint which occurred within the 300 day period is contained in paragraph 13 of plaintiffs amended complaint.

The plaintiff admits that he cannot receive any relief or compensation for the specific incidents alleged in paragraphs 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. The plaintiff does allege, however, that these claims should not be dismissed because they constitute relevant background evidence of KID’s intent and motives concerning the plaintiff’s single timely claim contained in paragraph 13. At least one court has held that employer practices in the time-barred period can serve as relevant evidence of the employer’s intent or motive with regard to the timely claims. See Marshall v. American Motors Corp., 475 F.Supp. 875 (E.D.Mich. 1979). With regard to Title VII, the United States Supreme Court has held that time-barred Title VII claims can be used as relevant background evidence concerning a timely, filed Title VII claim. See United Airlines v. Evans, 431 U.S. 553, 97 S.Ct. 1885, 52 L.Ed.2d 571 (1977). The Ninth Circuit has recently held that cases construing Title VII may be used to resolve ADEA issues. See Aronsen v. Crown Zellerbach, 662 F.2d 584 (9th Cir.1981).

Under this authority, the plaintiff may introduce evidence concerning time-barred claims relevant to a timely claim. But that same authority is also clear that plaintiff may not receive any relief for the time-barred claims. Taking these holdings into account, the Court hereby dismisses paragraphs 5, 6, 8, 9,10,11, and 12 of plaintiff’s amended complaint, but will permit the plaintiff to introduce properly admittable evidence concerning the time-barred claims relevant to plaintiff’s timely ADEA and Title VII claims.

KID next claims that the Court should exercise its discretion to dismiss the plaintiff’s pendent state claims. The plaintiff has alleged two pendent claims: (1) count two of plaintiff’s amended complaint alleges a violation of Idaho Code Chapter 59, Title 67, Section 5901 et seq.; and (2) count five of plaintiff’s amended complaint alleges a breach of contract.

The factors to be considered in determining whether pendent jurisdiction should be exercised are: (1) the existence of a substantial federal claim sufficient to confer subject matter jurisdiction on the Court; (2) whether the state and federal claims derive from a common nucleus of operative fact; and (3) whether a plaintiff’s claims are such that he would expect them all to be tried in a single judicial proceeding. See United Mine Workers v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 86 S.Ct. 1130, 16 L.Ed.2d 218 (1966). But even when all of these factors exist, the power to hear the state claims along with the federal claims need not be exercised in every case. As Gibbs makes clear, pendent jurisdiction is a doctrine of discretion.

KID does not claim that any of the three factors listed above are lacking in this case; rather, KID argues that to hear the state claims in this action would contravene the policy underlying Title VII and the ADEA.

With regard to pendent party jurisdiction; the United States Supreme Court has held that pendent jurisdiction should not be exercised when to do so would contravene the intent of the statute giving rise to the federal claim. See Owen Equipment & Erection Co. v. Kroger, 437 U.S. 365, 98 S.Ct. 2396, 57 L.Ed.2d 274 (1978); Aldinger v. Howard, 427 U.S. 1, 96 S.Ct. 2413, 49 L.Ed.2d 276 (1976). 1 Other courts have expanded this reasoning to cover pendent claims where the federal court has only *1156

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Bluebook (online)
559 F. Supp. 1153, 38 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 439, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18536, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/james-v-kid-broadcasting-corp-idd-1983.