Nash v. City of Oakwood

90 F.R.D. 633, 28 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 279, 31 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1532, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13173
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedJune 30, 1981
DocketNo. C-3-80-375
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 90 F.R.D. 633 (Nash v. City of Oakwood) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nash v. City of Oakwood, 90 F.R.D. 633, 28 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 279, 31 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1532, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13173 (S.D. Ohio 1981).

Opinion

DECISION AND ENTRY ON PENDING MOTIONS; MOTION TO COMPEL SUSTAINED IN PART AND OVERRULED IN PART; MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER SUSTAINED IN PART AND OVERRULED IN PART; MOTION TO INTERVENE OVERRULED; CONFERENCE CALL SET

RICE, District Judge.

The captioned cause is before the Court on the following motions:

(a) Plaintiff’s motion to compel production of documents and information described in her subpoenas duces te-cum for the November 20, 1980, and March 8, 1981, depositions, and for the April 23, 1981, class certification hearing, (doc. # # 20, 23).
(b) Defendant’s motion for protective order limiting the scope of plaintiff’s discovery to genuine issues in this case (actually an expanded version of a previously filed motion to quash a subpoena duces tecum), for other reasonable limits and requiring plaintiff to follow the procedures in Rule 34, Fed.R.Civ.P.; and
(c) A motion to intervene as party plaintiff by Raymond L. Jordan, II.

For the reasons hereinafter stated, plaintiff’s motion to compel will be granted in part and denied in part; defendant’s motion for a protective order will be granted in [635]*635part and denied in part; and the motion to intervene by Jordan will be denied subject to renewal.

This is an employment discrimination action against the City of Oakwood, Ohio. Plaintiff, Victoria Nash, a black woman, alleges that defendant’s employment practices discriminate against blacks and women. She has filed this action on behalf of herself and:

[A]ll blacks and women who have applied for the position of public safety [officer] with Defendant and all blacks and women who might have been employed by Defendant but for its reputation for engaging in discriminatory employment practices, and who have been and continue to be or might be adversely affected by the practices [of Defendant].

Complaint, para. 7. Plaintiff seeks damages and declaratory and injunctive relief on behalf of herself, and blacks and women similarly situated to redress deprivations of rights secured by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., by 42 U.S.C. § 1981, by 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and by the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C. § 3766(c)(1). The jurisdiction of the Court is invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1343(3), 1343(4), 1331(a), 2201, 2202, and under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5.

A. Discovery Matters

Plaintiff has moved the Court for an order compelling defendant to produce the documents described in her subpoena duces tecum for the November 20, 1980, and March 8, 1981, depositions, and for the subpoena duces tecum filed for the April 23, 1981, class certification hearing. The subpoena for November 20, 1980, and March 8, 1981, called for production of the following documents:

1. the applications of all persons considered for the position of public safety officer (“pso”);
2. scores of all applicants on the written and physical portions of the pso examination;
results of physical, psychological and polygraph examinations of pso applicants; 3.
4. the affirmative action program documents and policies of defendants governing and relating to equal employment opportunity and receipt of federal funds for law enforcement, fire fighting and public welfare;
5. examinations and written criteria used to evaluate applicants for the position of pso; and
6. copies of all complaints filed against the City of Oakwood alleging race and/or sex discrimination since January 1, 1968, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.

The subpoena filed for April 23, 1981, called for production of the following documents:

1. Plaintiff’s examination and documents related to her application for pso with defendant;
2. all documents and materials identifying applicants by name, sex, and race for the position of pso with defendant from January 1, 1968, until April 24, 1981; and
3. all documents identifying examination dates, persons and test scores for the position of pso and persons listed on eligibility hiring lists for the position of pso by race and sex, since January, 1968.

To date, none of the above described documents, with the possible exception of the documents relating specifically to plaintiff’s application for pso have, to this Court’s knowledge, been produced. Plaintiff has moved the Court to compel defendant to produce the documents described (doc. # 20); defendant has moved the Court for a protective order to limit the scope of discovery and to impose reasonable restraints thereon, (doc. # 26).

Having carefully examined plaintiff’s complaint, the Court concludes, as a threshold matter, that plaintiff is entitled to no discovery from defendant on her claim of racial discrimination. The Com[636]*636plaint is utterly devoid of any factual allegations indicating that defendant discriminated against plaintiff on the basis of race, as opposed to sex. The action arises in connection with plaintiff’s application to defendant for the position of public safety officer. Plaintiff alleges that she took the written and physical portions of the pso examination on September 6, 1980. (para. 11). She alleges that the physical test requires successful completion of eight activities, and that failure to complete any one of the activities results in disqualification of the applicant, (para. 12-13). Plaintiff further states that she failed to complete part (e) of the physical test, i. e., carrying “two rolled fire hoses each 2lA inches wide, 25 feet long weighing a total of 78 pounds up a,nd down four flights of stairs and across 100 feet of level ground.” (para. 12, 14).

“This language provides no basis for implying a charge of [race] discrimination.” McCray v. Standard Oil Company, 76 F.R.D. 490, 498 (N.D.Ill.1977). Even under the liberal notice pleading requirements of Rule 8, Fed.R.Civ.P., and the liberal perspective in which Title VII complaints are generally viewed, plaintiff’s conclusory allegations of broad based racial discrimination in defendant’s employment practices fail to pass muster. See, McCray v. Standard Oil Co., supra, 76 F.R.D. at 497; Peak v. Topeka Housing Authority, 78 F.R.D. 78, 85-86 (D.Kansas 1978); United States v. Gustin-Bacon Division, Certainteed Products Corp., 426 F.2d 539, 543 (10th Cir. 1970). In order to meet minimum standards, the Plaintiff’s complaint must set forth “fundamental facts reflecting a pattern or practice of racial discrimination.” McCray v. Standard Oil Co., supra, 76 F.R.D. at 497; United States v.

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Bluebook (online)
90 F.R.D. 633, 28 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 279, 31 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1532, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13173, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nash-v-city-of-oakwood-ohsd-1981.