Roberts v. Walmart Stores, Inc.

736 F. Supp. 1527, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6218, 1990 WL 68704
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedMay 22, 1990
Docket89-2279-C-5
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 736 F. Supp. 1527 (Roberts v. Walmart Stores, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roberts v. Walmart Stores, Inc., 736 F. Supp. 1527, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6218, 1990 WL 68704 (E.D. Mo. 1990).

Opinion

736 F.Supp. 1527 (1990)

Norris L. ROBERTS, et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
WALMART STORES, INC., Defendant.

No. 89-2279-C-5.

United States District Court, E.D. Missouri, E.D.

May 22, 1990.

Louis Gilden and Charles Oldham, St. Louis, Mo., for plaintiffs.

James E. Whaley, Brown, James & Rabbitt, St. Louis, Mo., for defendant Walmart Stores.

*1528 MEMORANDUM

LIMBAUGH, District Judge.

Plaintiffs are black citizens of the United States. Defendant is a retail department store. On December 5, 1989 plaintiffs were customers at a store operated by defendant in St. Charles, Missouri. During this visit plaintiffs purchased several items and presented defendant with a check in payment for the merchandise. Defendant recorded the race of plaintiffs on the check. Plaintiffs, upon becoming aware that their race was being recorded on the check, returned the merchandise and retrieved the check. Plaintiffs then filed a two-count amended complaint against defendant alleging that defendant's practice of recording the race of black citizens who pay for merchandise by check violates the Thirteenth Amendment, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, 42 U.S.C. § 1982, and 15 U.S.C. § 1691 et seq. This cause is before the Court on defendant's motion to dismiss plaintiff's complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Alternatively, defendant seeks for the Court to compel plaintiffs to file an amended complaint which contains a more definite statement of their claims.

In passing on a motion to dismiss, a court must view the facts alleged in the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974); Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 101-02, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); Toombs v. Bell, 798 F.2d 297, 298 (8th Cir.1986). The court should not grant a motion to dismiss merely because the complaint does not state with precision every element of the offense necessary for recovery. 5 Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil, Sec. 1216 at 120 (1969). A complaint is sufficient if it contains "allegations from which an inference can be drawn that evidence on these material points will be introduced at trial." Id. at 122-123. Moreover, a court should not dismiss a complaint unless it "appears beyond a reasonable doubt that plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Conley v. Gibson, supra, 355 U.S. at 45-46, 78 S.Ct. at 102. Thus, a motion to dismiss is likely to be granted "only in the unusual case in which a plaintiff includes allegations that show on the face of the complaint that there is some insuperable bar to relief." Fusco v. Xerox Corp., 676 F.2d 332, 334 (8th Cir.1982). With this standard in mind, the Court turns to an examination of the plaintiffs' complaint.

Thirteenth Amendment

The Thirteenth Amendment is implicated when it is alleged that a private individual or entity deliberately acted in a way to segregate, humiliate or belittle a person of the black race in a way that prevented such a person from freely exercising a right guaranteed to all citizens. Baker v. McDonald's Corp., 686 F.Supp. 1474, 1481 (S.D.Fla.1987). Although it is clear that the Thirteenth Amendment is implicated in this action, defendant asserts that plaintiffs cannot bring this action against them directly under the Thirteenth Amendment. The Court agrees. Plaintiffs may not maintain a cause of action against defendant, a private corporation, directly under the Thirteenth Amendment. Instead, plaintiffs must base their claims on one of the implementing statutes of the Thirteenth Amendment, e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and 42 U.S.C. § 1982. Id. Therefore, any claim that plaintiffs intend to assert directly under the Thirteenth Amendment is dismissed.

42 U.S.C. § 1981

Defendant asserts that plaintiffs' claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 is no longer cognizable after Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, ___ U.S. ___, 109 S.Ct. 2363, 105 L.Ed.2d 132 (1989). Title 42 U.S.C. § 1981 provides, in relevant part: "All persons ... shall have the same right ... to make contracts." Title 42 U.S.C. § 1981 prohibits the refusal to enter into a contract on racial grounds as well as an offer to enter into a contract only on discriminatory terms. 109 S.Ct. at 2362. After Patterson, however, this provision does not prohibit *1529 discriminatory conduct after the contract relation has been formed. Id. at 2373.

Defendant asserts that its recording the race of the plaintiffs on the check is post-formation conduct which is no longer actionable under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. After Patterson the resolution of this civil rights claim turns on an interpretation of the Missouri Commercial Code to determine whether the contract was formed at the time the alleged violation occurred. The Court does not possess enough information about the retail transaction to ascertain whether a contract was already formed at the time defendant recorded the race of plaintiffs on the check. Therefore, defendant's motion to dismiss plaintiffs' claim pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1981 is denied.

42 U.S.C. § 1982

Defendant asserts that plaintiffs failed to plead a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1982, which provides, in part:

All citizens of the United States shall have the same right, in every State and Territory, as is enjoyed by white citizens thereof to ... purchase ... personal property.

First, defendant asserts that plaintiffs have failed to plead that blacks were treated any differently than whites.

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Bluebook (online)
736 F. Supp. 1527, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6218, 1990 WL 68704, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roberts-v-walmart-stores-inc-moed-1990.