Kayhill v. Unified Government

197 F.R.D. 454, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19409, 2000 WL 1762447
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedNovember 21, 2000
DocketNo. CIV. A. 99-2287-KHV
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 197 F.R.D. 454 (Kayhill v. Unified Government) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kayhill v. Unified Government, 197 F.R.D. 454, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19409, 2000 WL 1762447 (D. Kan. 2000).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

VRATIL, District Judge.

Donna R. Kayhill brings suit against the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas (“the Unified Government”) alleging employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, national origin and disability. This matter comes before the Court on the Motion For Appointment Of Counsel (Doc. #50) which plaintiff filed August 3, 2000; defendant’s request for reasonable expenses and attorneys’ fees which it incurred in making Defendants’ Motion To Compel/Dismiss (Doc. #35) filed July 5, 2000; the Motion For Summary Judgment (Doc. # 68) which defendant filed August 31, 2000; the Order To Show Cause (Doc. # 60) which the Court issued August 18, 2000; and Defendant’s Motion For Sanctions (Doc. #64) filed August 29, 2000.

I. Plaintiffs Motion For Appointment Of Counsel

Plaintiff makes a second request for the Court to appoint counsel. See Motion For Appointment Of Counsel (Doc. #50) filed August 3, 2000. On May 24, 2000, the Court denied her first request because she had not demonstrated financial inability to retain counsel. See Memorandum And Order (Doc. # 26) filed May 24, 2000, at 2-4. In making its determination, the Court looked to the combined income of plaintiff and her husband. . See id. at 3-4. In her second request for counsel, plaintiff asserts that she has lost her job and is now unemployed.

Plaintiff does not have a constitutional or statutory right to appointed counsel. See Castner v. Colo. Springs Cablevision, 979 F.2d 1417, 1420 (10th Cir.1992). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (“Title VII”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e to §§ 2000e-17, provides that the district court in its discretion may appoint counsel for plaintiff “in such circumstances as the court may deem just.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e — 5(f)(1).

The Court exercises extremely broad discretion in deciding whether to appoint counsel. See Castner, 979 F.2d at 1420. The Tenth Circuit has identified four factors which are relevant to the decision. See id. at 1421. Before the Court may appoint counsel, plaintiff must affirmatively show: (1) that she is financially unable to pay for counsel; (2) that she has diligently attempted to secure counsel; and (3) that her allegations of discrimination are meritorious. See id. In close cases, the Court considers a fourth factor — plaintiffs ability to present the case without counsel — as an aid in exercising discretion. See id. The determination to appoint counsel involves two competing considerations. In light of Congress’ special concern regarding legal representation in Title VII actions, the Court must give “serious consideration” to plaintiffs request for counsel. Id. On the other hand, the court must keep in mind that Congress has not provided any mechanism for compensating such appointed counsel. Thoughtful and prudent use of the appointment power is necessary so that willing counsel may be located without the need to make coercive appointments. The indiscriminate appointment of volunteer counsel to undeserving claims will waste a precious resource and may discourage attorneys from donating their time. Id. at 1421.

[456]*456The Court assumes for purposes of this ruling that plaintiff has satisfied the first two factors. Plaintiffs motion to appoint counsel makes no attempt, however, to demonstrate that her allegations of discrimination are meritorious. In her complaint, plaintiff alleges that defendant discriminated against her on the bases of race or color, religion, sex, national origin and disability in violation of Title VII and the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12111 et seq. See Complaint (Doc. # 1) filed June 28, 1999, at 2-3. In her filings in this case and her file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), plaintiff makes the following factual allegations:

• (1) On June 26, 1996, defendant hired plaintiff to work as a switchboard operator at the front desk. See Affidavit, at 1, in EEOC file.
• (2) On November 20, 1996, plaintiff complained of sexual and racial harassment by police officer Dennis Vallejo. Plaintiffs supervisors reprimanded her for not following the proper chain of command and did nothing about her complaint. See Complaint H ll(l)-(3).
• (3) On February 11, 1997, plaintiffs supervisor removed sacred religious items, including an Eagle Feather, from plaintiffs desk in the front reception area. Plaintiff complained to the director, who told her that he would do nothing about it because her desk was in a public area. See id. 11 ll(4)-(6). Around Christmas time, however, the reception area was decorated with a nativity scene and Christmas tree. See Pretrial Order (Doc. # 59), at 3 filed August 17, 2000.
• (4) From April 1997 to June 24, 1997, police officer Terrance Hall made sexual, racial and religious slurs to plaintiff. See Complaint 1111(7)-(11). Plaintiff made repeated complaints to her supervisor about Hall’s conduct, but her supervisor did nothing. See id. On June 12, 1997, plaintiff complained to the personnel director about the conduct of Vallejo and Hall. See id. U 11(10). The personnel director said that he could do nothing about it. See id.
(5) In June 1997, defendant fired Vallejo because he made inappropriate sexual remarks to summer interns. See Affidavit, attached statement, in EEOC file. Plaintiff had encouraged the interns to complain. See id. In retaliation for then-complaints about Vallejo, co-workers treated plaintiff and the interns badly. See id.
(6) On June 30, 1997, plaintiff was raped. See id. at 2. She took time off from work as a result. See id. When she returned to work, she found a rape report on her desk. See id. She complained that Hall had put it there. See id. On July 14, 1997, Hall complained that plaintiff had sexually harassed him. See id.
(7) On September 26, 1997, defendant moved plaintiff to the medical records department as a result of her problems with Hall. See id. Plaintiff did not want to change departments. See id.
(8) The employees in medical records, all female, were friends with Hall. See id. Throughout the time that plaintiff worked in the department, her co-workers were mean to her, teased her about the rape and called her “whore” and “coochie.” See id. at 2-3.
(9) Plaintiff did not return to work after May 15,1998, because she could not handle the co-worker harassment. See id. at 3. Defendant granted her leave until June 8, 1998. See id. On June 5, 1998, a coworker called plaintiff and asked if she had been raped again. See id., attached statement. This upset plaintiff, and she did not call in or report to work on June 8, 9 and 10, 1998.1 See id. at 3.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
197 F.R.D. 454, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19409, 2000 WL 1762447, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kayhill-v-unified-government-ksd-2000.