Miller v. Hygrade Food Products Corp.

202 F.R.D. 142, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6055, 85 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1222, 2001 WL 503395
District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania·Decided May 11, 2001·No. No. CIV. A. 99-1087·Published·Cited by 16 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

REED, Senior District Judge.

Presently before this Court is the motion by defendant Hygrade Food Products Corporation (“Hygrade”) to sever plaintiffs’ claims into separate lawsuits to be heard in separate trials, (Document No. 69), pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 20(a), 21, and 42(b). Plaintiffs James C. Miller, Ralph Brown, Vincent Gray, Charles Knight, Michael Jones, Harold G. Williams, Jerry Hemingway, Barry C. James and Dwayne Jackson filed this law suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. § 1981(a), and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, alleging race discrimination. For the reasons set forth below, the motion will be denied.1

I. Background

Sara Lee Corporation is the parent corporation of Hygrade which employs approximately 300 employees at its Philadelphia facility, approximately 58% of whom are minorities. Hygrade produces and packages hot dogs, bacon and ham at its Philadelphia facility. Nine current employees at Hy-grade’s Philadelphia facility initiated this lawsuit alleging that Hygrade has engaged in a continuous pattern and practice of race discrimination and racial harassment. Specifically, plaintiffs allege that Hygrade’s employment decisions across the board are determined in a highly subjective manner at the hands of a small, virtually entirely non-Black, central group of people. Plaintiffs further allege that Hygrade condones and perpetuates a racially hostile work environment. Plaintiffs describe discrimination against African-Americans in different job categories and in different forms. Many of the factual allegations describe situations in which African-American employees were treated differently than similarly situated white employees. This Court denied plaintiffs’ renewed motion for class certification (Document No. 84) and now decides whether to grant defendant’s motion to sever.

II. Analysis

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20(a) governs permissive joinder and provides in relevant part: “All persons may join in one action as plaintiffs if they assert any right to relief jointly, severally, or in the alternative [144]*144in respect of or arising out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences and if any question of law or fact common to all these persons will arise in the action.”2 Fed.R.Civ.P. 20(a) (emphasis added). Thus, plaintiffs must show both that their claims arise out of the same transaction(s) or oecurrence(s) and that a question of law or fact common to all joined parties will arise. See In re Orthopedic Bone Screw Prod. Liab. Litig., MDL 1014, 1995 WL 428683, at *1 (E.D.Pa. July 17, 1995).

The purpose of Rule 20(a) is to “promote trial convenience and expedite the final determination of disputes, thereby preventing multiple law suits.” 7 Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller and Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1652 at 395 (3d ed.2001); see also Mosley v. General Motors Corp., 497 F.2d 1330, 1332 (8th Cir.1974). Permissive joinder falls within the Court’s sound discretion and is to be liberally granted; “[ujnder the rules, the impulse is toward entertaining the broadest possible scope of action consistent with fairness to the parties; joinder of claims, parties and remedies is strongly encouraged.” United Mine Workers of Am. v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 724, 86 S.Ct. 1130, 1138, 16 L.Ed.2d 218 (1966).

Courts generally apply a case-by-case approach in determining whether a particular factual situation meets the same transaction or occurrence test. See 7 Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller and Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1653 at 409 (3d ed.2001); Mosley, 497 F.2d at 1333. The test mirrors the one applied under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 13(a), under which “ ‘Transaction’ is a word of flexible meaning. It may comprehend a series of many occurrences, depending not so much upon the immediateness of their connection as upon their logical relationship.’ ” Mosley, 497 F.2d at 1333 (emphasis added) (quoting Moore v. New York Cotton Exchange, 270 U.S. 593, 610, 46 S.Ct. 367, 371, 70 L.Ed. 750 (1926)); see also In re University Med. Ctr., 973 F.2d 1065, 1086 (3d Cir.1992) (recognizing logical relationship test under Rule 13(a)). Identifying each event is not demanded. See Mosley, 497 F.2d at 1333; King v. Pepsi Cola Metro. Bottling Co., 86 F.R.D. 4, at 6 (E.D.Pa.1979)

Here, plaintiffs allege that Hygrade employs a subjective decision making policy designed to discriminate against African-American employees. All of the specific incidences of discrimination flow from this general policy, or pattern and practice, and therefore are logically related and arise out of the same series of transactions or occurrences. See AM. Alexander v. Fulton County Georgia, 207 F.3d 1303, 1323-24 (11th Cir.2000) (determining that plaintiffs who brought suit for allegedly discriminatory employment decisions in a wide range of areas met same transaction or occurrence test); Mosley, 497 F.2d at 1333-34 (determining that company wide policy of alleged discrimination constituted same transaction or occurrence);3 Fong v. Rego Park Nursing Home, 1996 WL 468660, at *3 (E.D.N.Y. Aug.7, 1996) (determining that plaintiffs who held different positions and were terminated at different times under different circumstances shared the same transaction or occurrence of “intense scrutiny and strict punishment.”); In re Orthopedic Bone Screw Prod., 1995 WL 428683, at *2 (noting that the same transaction or occurrence query is met where plaintiffs are injured at same company and by same employer); King, 86 F.R.D. 4, at 5-6 (determining that central theme of discriminatory policy meets test). Thus the plaintiffs have met the first joinder requisite under Rule 20(a).

[145]*145The second requisite to sustain joinder under Rule 20(a) involves whether a common question of law or fact will arise. Courts have turned to the commonality requirement under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a) for an analogy.

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

Miller v. Hygrade Food Products Corp., 202 F.R.D. 142, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6055, 85 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1222, 2001 WL 503395 (E.D. Pa. 2001).

202 F.R.D. 142 (Miller v. Hygrade Food Products Corp.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

SHAQRAN v. BLINKEN
E.D. Pennsylvania, 2024
Bush v. Luzerne County
M.D. Pennsylvania, 2023
C.D.A. v. United States
E.D. Pennsylvania, 2023
BRANSON v. IKEA HOLDING US, INC.
E.D. Pennsylvania, 2021
GUO v. LOR
D. New Jersey, 2021
Robinson v. Southers
M.D. Pennsylvania, 2019
Russell v. Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C.
305 F.R.D. 78 (M.D. Pennsylvania, 2015)
Bradshaw v. Township of Middletown
296 F. Supp. 2d 526 (D. New Jersey, 2003)
Biglow v. Boeing Co.
201 F.R.D. 519 (D. Kansas, 2001)