Tolerico v. Home Depot

205 F.R.D. 169, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 255, 2002 WL 27800
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 9, 2002
DocketNo. 3:CV-99-2262
StatusPublished
Cited by46 cases

This text of 205 F.R.D. 169 (Tolerico v. Home Depot) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tolerico v. Home Depot, 205 F.R.D. 169, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 255, 2002 WL 27800 (M.D. Pa. 2002).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

VANASKIE, Chief Judge.

At issue in this employment discrimination action is whether the affidavit of Patrick Donahue, Esq., averring that he delivered to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) a “Charge Questionnaire” on behalf of plaintiff Jeanette M. Burns within three (3) weeks of her termination of employment with defendant Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. (Home Depot), is sufficient to defeat a summary judgment motion based upon the absence of evidence in EEOC records of receipt of the Charge Questionnaire. A threshold subsidiary issue in this matter is whether the Charge Questionnaire dated April 1, 1998, as well as Attorney Donahue’s affidavit, should be excluded because neither the Charge Questionnaire nor the information expressed in Attorney Donahue’s affidavit was provided as part of the disclosures mandated by Rule 26(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or in response to Home Depot’s discovery requests. Having carefully considered the issues, I have concluded that the extreme sanction of exclusion of evidence is not warranted, but that Burns’ attorneys must pay the counsel fees and expenses incurred by Home Depot as a result of the failure to provide plainly relevant documents, the disclosure of which was required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(1) and which fell within the ambit of Home Depot’s discovery requests. I have also concluded that the evidence tendered on behalf of Ms. Burns is sufficient to compel denial of Home Depot’s summary judgment motion.

I. BACKGROUND

On December 30, 1999, Ms. Burns, along with four other women, brought this action against Home Depot, asserting claims of a sexually hostile work environment, sex discrimination, and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA), 43 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 951, et seq. Ms. Burns worked for Home Depot from May 15, 1997 until March 25, 1998. She contends that she was compelled to leave her job with Home Depot because of sexual harassment.

In late March or early April of 1998, Ms. Burns, with the assistance of Atty. Donahue, completed an EEOC Charge Questionnaire. (Burns Supplemental Deposition at 32.)1 Attached to the Charge Questionnaire was an “Employee Statement” on a Home Depot form that identified the alleged harasser and provided some detail as to Ms. Burns’ claims. The Charge Questionnaire is dated “4-1-98,” and was signed under penalty of perjury by Ms. Burns. (See Exhibit “K” in Plaintiffs Appendix of Exhibits in Opp. to the Home Depot S.J. Mot.)

On April 8, 1998, Atty. Donahue, along with the other four plaintiffs in this action, traveled to the EEOC office in Philadelphia; Ms. Burns did not accompany Atty. Donahue. (Aff. of Atty. Donahue, H 3, attached as Exhibit “0” to Plaintiffs Appendix of Exhibits [172]*172in Opp. to Home Depot’s S.J. Mot.). Atty. Donahue claims that he presented the Charge Questionnaire along with Ms. Burns’ written statement to the EEOC on April 8, 1998. (Id. at 11114-6.)

It is undisputed that the April 1, 1998 Charge Questionnaire completed by Ms. Burns was not docketed by the EEOC, nor was a charge number assigned to Burns’ claim in April of 1998. Indeed, there is no confirmation from the EEOC that it received this Charge Questionnaire. It is also undisputed that the EEOC did not take any action whatsoever in connection with Ms. Burns’ claim as a result of the April 1, 1998 Charge Questionnaire.

In late 1998 or early 1999, Atty. Joseph T. Wright, Jr. and the law firm of Wright & Associates became involved in the representation of Ms. Burns and the other four plaintiffs. (Statement of Wright & Associates Regarding Imposition of Sanctions, 111.) At that time, Wright & Associates received a copy of the April 1, 1998 Charge Questionnaire and the Employee Statement appended thereto. (Id.) In September of 1999, Atty. Wright requested the EEOC to issue “right to sue” letters on behalf of all five plaintiffs. (Id., 113.) Right to sue letters were received for the other four plaintiffs, but not for Ms. Burns. (Id.) According to Atty. Wright, he again inquired of Atty. Donahue as to whether he had pursued administrative remedies on behalf of Ms. Burns, and Atty. Donahue once again confirmed that he had. (Id.)

Upon learning that Atty. Wright had not received a right to sue letter for Ms. Burns, Atty. Donahue contacted the EEOC Philadelphia office. (Donahue Dep. at 19-20.) According to Donahue, he was informed that the EEOC did not have any record of the Burns’ Charge Questionnaire and he was directed to “resubmit the paperwork____” (Id. at 20.)

In November of 1999, Atty. Donahue met with Ms. Burns, ostensibly for the purpose of preparing the appropriate documents to send to the EEOC. (Id. at 44.) Atty. Wright was not informed of this meeting or that Atty. Donahue was submitting charging documents on behalf of Ms. Burns at that time. (Statement of Wright & Associates at H 4; Donahue Dep. at 44.)

By letter dated November 12, 1999, Atty. Donahue submitted to the EEOC on behalf of Ms. Burns a “completed Charge Questionnaire, Sexual Harassment Questionnaire, Dual Filing Request, Charge Information Questionnaire, Harassment Questionnaire, and Allegations of Employment Discrimination Form.” The Charge Questionnaire submitted in November of 1999 answered in the negative the following questions:

Have you filed a complaint about the action you think was discriminatory ... ? Have you filed an EEOC charge in the past?

No reference was made in the November 1999 submissions to the alleged April 8, 1998 delivery of a Charge Questionnaire on behalf of Ms. Burns to the EEOC.

By letter dated December 22, 1999 and addressed to Ms. Burns with a copy to Atty. Donahue,2 the EEOC asserted that it had no authority to investigate Burns’ allegations because her complaint had not been received within 300 days of her alleged termination of employment.3 The December 22nd letter informed Ms. Burns and Atty. Donahue that if they were of the opinion that the matters of which she was complaining fell within EEOC jurisdiction, they could “recontact” the EEOC Philadelphia office. By letter dated December 28, 1999, Atty. Donahue advised the EEOC that “Ms. Burns was informed that the filing was outside of the 300-day limit ..., but she would request that the [173]*173EEOC file her charge and issue a right to sue letter on her behalf immediately.” (EE 00223.) Ms. Burns is indicated as having been forwarded a copy of Atty. Donahue’s letter. There is no indication that a copy of this letter was sent to Atty. Wright.

On December 30, 1999, a complaint was filed in this Court on behalf of Ms. Burns and the other four plaintiffs. Significantly, as to the other four plaintiffs, the Complaint alleged that “in or about April 1998,” each plaintiff had filed a charge of sex discrimination with the EEOC, the charge was assigned a specific “charge number,” and “[a]ll administrative prerequisites for maintaining this case have been satisfied.” (Complaint, 11119-11 and 13.) As to Ms.

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205 F.R.D. 169, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 255, 2002 WL 27800, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tolerico-v-home-depot-pamd-2002.