Macedonia Church v. Lancaster Hotel Ltd. Partnership

270 F.R.D. 107, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103496
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedSeptember 30, 2010
DocketCivil No. 3:05CV00153(AWT)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 270 F.R.D. 107 (Macedonia Church v. Lancaster Hotel Ltd. Partnership) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Macedonia Church v. Lancaster Hotel Ltd. Partnership, 270 F.R.D. 107, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103496 (D. Conn. 2010).

Opinion

RULING ON RENEWED MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

ALVIN W. THOMPSON, District Judge.

This action arises out of an effort by predominantly African-American congregants and affiliates of Macedonia Church, in South Norwalk, Connecticut, to reserve lodging at the Lancaster Host Resort and Conference Center (“Lancaster Host”) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The complaint alleges that the defendants, Lancaster Hotel Limited Partnership, MASSPA Realty Corporation, and Fine Hotels Corp., denied the group accommodations because of their race, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981. The proposed plaintiff class seeks certification pursuant to Rules 23(b)(1)(B) and 23(b)(3). The current plaintiffs named in the action are Macedonia Church, Rev. Dewitt Stevens, Jr. (“Stevens”), Merle Rumble (“Rumble”), Albert Ray Dancy (“Dancy”), Cynthia Welfare Johnson (“Johnson”), and Sandra Hart (“Hart”). The plaintiffs propose a class of “Macedonia Church and those members of Macedonia Church, and those relatives or friends of Macedonia Church members, who participated in a church trip to Lancaster Pennsylvania on July 9-10, 2004, and were denied accommodations at the Lancaster Host.” (Renewed Motion for Order Determining That Action Proceed as Class Action (Doc. No. 207)(“Pls.’ Mot.”) at 1.) For the reasons set forth below, the motion is being granted.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The court makes the following findings of facts based on the deposition testimony, affidavits, and exhibits submitted by the parties. See In re Initial Pub. Offering Sec. Litig. (In re IPO), 471 F.3d 24, 27, 41 (2d Cir. 2006)( [in adjudicating a motion for class certification, “all of the evidence must be assessed as with any other threshold issue”; “the judge [must] resolve[ ] factual disputes”] relevant to the motion).

Sometime in February 2003, Rumble visited Lancaster Host to determine its suitability for a group outing. She met with Bonnie Skagen, a sales representative, and the two discussed information about Lancaster Host in the lobby for about fifteen minutes. During this time, Rumble said that she was interested in scheduling a group outing there and Skagen gave her a business card and brochure about Lancaster Host. Rumble found Skagen “pleasant” during her visit. (Deposition of Merle Rumble, (Aug.2005)(“Rumble Dep.”) at 50:7.)

In April 2004, Stevens, his wife Addie Stevens, Rumble, and assistant pastor Michael Rumble (her husband), all African-Americans, traveled to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to attend Sight and Sound, a religious-themed musical production, and determine whether such a trip would be suitable for a group trip the church was planning for that summer. The group met with Skagen to assess the merits of rooming at Lancaster Host.

Lancaster Host, before being sold to a third party in July 2004, was owned by defendants MASSPA Realty Corporation and Lancaster Host Limited Partnership. Fine Hotels Corporation exercised management responsibilities. As of June 2004, around 160 full-time employees serviced Lancaster Host, which consisted of 330 hotel rooms and 500,-000 square feet of space.

Lancaster Host maintained different departments devoted to booking. The group sales department consisted of four sales managers, one of whom was Skagen. Skagen was solely responsible for attracting business from social, medical, military, educational, religious, and fraternal groups seeking to reserve 50 rooms or fewer. Sales managers like Skagen received an incentive bonus for meeting certain targets; they also would take proposed or tentative group reservations that could collectively exceed available rooms.

After a brief tour, the group and Skagen made preliminary arrangements for reserving approximately 40 rooms for the dates of July 8-9, 2004. The group talked with Ska-[112]*112gen for at least half an hour. At one point, Rumble became the contact person on behalf of Macedonia Church with regard to the reservations. Skagen stated that she would send Rumble an introductory letter containing information such as room availability, pricing, and arrival and departure dates. Skagen also told Rumble that a signed contract would be necessary to confirm any reservation. Rumble described Skageris demeanor as “pleasant, cordial” and seemingly “willing to work” with the group on the reservations. (Deposition of Merle Rumble, (Aug.2005)(“Rumble Dep.”) at 85:3-4.)

Around the same time, Rumble and Stevens announced to the congregation that they would be staying at Lancaster Host during their trip. Johnson described Rumble’s “presentation about the planned activities and the itinerary of activities that we were planning to do.” (Deposition of Cynthia Welfare Johnson (“Johnson Dep.”) at 56:3-5.) “She had a brochure, and she was reading off different activities that it had listed in their brochure ... [a]nd everyone was getting excited because it was free. Well, it was included in your stay.” (Johnson Dep. at 64:2-7.) Hart states that when the pastor first presented the trip, “he also explained about his excitement of the accommodations that we were going to be having.” (Deposition of Sandra Hart (“Hart Dep.”) at 62:1-3.) Hart also mentioned at this church meeting that Rumble stated that the lodging accommodations “were part of the resort areas that we were going to.” (Hart Dep. at 57:24-25.) Dancy remembers Rumble stating that “the place where we were making accommodations was a family type center, a lot of activities, [that Stevens, Addie Stevens, Rumble, and Michael Rumble] had been there and were very impressed with the place, and that they were excited that the church would have the opportunity to lodge there.” (Deposition of Albert Dancy (“Dancy Dep.”) at 48:20-25.) Stevens mentioned that it was “a nice resort area, something to look forward to ... it was a trip for families, et cetera.” (Hart Dep. at 62:7-9);(see also Rumble Dep. at 111:9-112:17.)

A sign up sheet was created. The sheet did not reference Lancaster Host, but instead was entitled “Noah-The Musical, Lancaster, Pa, July 9, 10” (Deposition of Rev. DeWitt Stevens (“Stevens Dep.”) at Ex. 1.) This referenced the show that they would see at Sight and Sound. Hart also recalls that at different periods of time there was a price given for the contract and a deadline for payment. It was expected that the participants in the trip to Lancaster would pay the church which would then take care of the payment to Lancaster Host.

On April 21, 2004, Skagen sent a document to Rumble. The defendants characterize this letter as providing “promotional information” (Defendants Response Brief in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Renewed Motion for Class Certification (“Defs.’ Opp.”) at 13-14), and having “accurately confirmed what Rumble had represented regarding the number of rooms that Macedonia Church was tentatively seeking, as well as the arrival and departure dates that Rumble had quoted to Skagen the day before.” (Id. at 14.) The plaintiffs describe it as “a written proposal describing the amenities at Lancaster Host and the room rates” but without any specification of the number of rooms to be occupied. (Plaintiffs’ Memorandum in Support of Renewed Motion for Class Certification (“Pis.’ Br.”) at 2.) Nevertheless, Rumble interpreted the written material as having “locked in” reservations at Lancaster Host. (Rumble Dep. at 131:8.)

Rumble and Skagen next spoke on May 10, 2004.

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
270 F.R.D. 107, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103496, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/macedonia-church-v-lancaster-hotel-ltd-partnership-ctd-2010.