Watson v. Fraternal Order of Eagles

915 F.2d 235, 1990 WL 140047
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedOctober 1, 1990
DocketNo. 89-3272
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 915 F.2d 235 (Watson v. Fraternal Order of Eagles) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Watson v. Fraternal Order of Eagles, 915 F.2d 235, 1990 WL 140047 (6th Cir. 1990).

Opinion

MERRITT, Chief Judge.

Plaintiffs appeal summary judgment in favor of the defendants in this action alleging race discrimination in the refusal to form a contract, a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (1982). Plaintiffs Calley and Ivory Watson, mother and son, are black. They sued Akron Aerie Local 555 of the Fraternal Order of Eagles (hereinafter Local 555) and its parent, the International Fraternal Order of Eagles Grand Aerie (hereinafter Grand Aerie) under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and for discrimination in public accommodations under Title II of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000a et seq. (1982).1 They also appended state claims for breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The District Court denied relief on the federal claims because it found that Title IPs private club exception, 42 U.S.C. § 2000a(e), barred any relief under any civil rights statute; it also dismissed the pendent state claims. Because we hold that § 2000a(e) does not foreclose this independent action under § 1981, we reverse the judgment of the District Court but we affirm with respect to the Grand Aerie because plaintiffs have not stated a cause of action against them under § 1981.

I. BACKGROUND

“At the outset, it is important to make clear precisely what this case does not involve.” Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., 392 U.S. 409, 413, 88 S.Ct. 2186, 2189, 20 L.Ed.2d 1189 (1968). At issue in this case is not whether the Eagles as a whole or Local 555 individually are discriminatory organizations. Whether Local 555 admits blacks as members or guests as a general rule is also not before us. Nor must we determine the extent to which the law generally permits the existence of discriminatory clubs. What is at issue in this case is solely whether the plaintiffs have alleged sufficient facts with adequate support to state a cause of action for refusal to contract under § 1981 and to survive a motion for summary judgment.

Local 555 is a constituent of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The Order is organized into local lodges called “aeries,” a word used for the mountain-top nests of hawks, eagles, and other birds. It has an overall governing body called the “Grand Aerie.” The Grand Aerie sets international policies for the Eagles and its component local aeries, but the Grand Aerie leaves membership policies and house rules up to the local aeries, according to the constitution and bylaws of the Grand Aerie. Fraternal Order of Eagles Const, art. VII, §§ 6, 8, J.A. at 223-24. The locals own their own halls. Under its stated rules, Local 555 uses a blackball system for membership: The members vote on a candidate using white or black balls, and if the candidate receives more than three black balls, he is not admitted. Local 555’s secretary testified that the Local had about 700 members at the time of the incident, that some whites had been rejected for membership, and that no blacks were members of Local 555 or had tried to become members. Deposition of Louis Trunzo at 7-8, J.A. at 167-68; Affidavit of Louis Trunzo ¶ 20, J.A. at 50. The members of Local 555 have no responsibility for club policies. Memorandum in Support of Defendants’ Motion for Protective Order, Docket No. 24.

The Eagles, like other fraternal organizations, is an all-male club designed to organize social events, recreation, and charitable activities for its members, their children, and members of the “Ladies Auxiliary.” The purposes of the club itself are not specified in the record. Counsel for Local 555 said at argument on the summary judgment motions that the club served no food

[238]*238[e]xcept on Friday nights when they have their fish-fry. They don’t serve lunches and dinners and things like that. It’s a bar. Don’t serve coffee — just to get potted.

Transcript of Motion Hearing, Docket No. 100, at 21. When the District Court asked, “What do the Eagles do besides drink liquor?” counsel responded:

Socialize and ... if they have money left over they give it to charitable organization [sic] in the community. It’s just a fraternal organization, people get together and socialize and they have dances Saturday nights for the members and guests.

Id. at 24. While the Eagles as an organization has existed since the close of the nineteenth century, the record reveals little more about its original purpose or present day activities.

The Local 555 hall in Akron has three rooms: a banquet room, a social room, and a game room. Local 555 rents out the banquet room for private parties held by nonmembers. Affidavit of Louis Trunzo ¶ 24, J.A. at 50. The social room has a bar that serves alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. Local 555 permits members to bring as many guests to the hall at one time as they would like. Once a guest has visited three times, he is not permitted in the hall unless he becomes a member. According to the stated house rules, which the Watsons claim are not observed, a member must accompany any guest into the social room and purchase any alcoholic beverages for the guest; guest may purchase their own soft drinks for cash. Deposition of Louis Trunzo at 10, J.A. at 170. Local 555 has this policy to conform to the requirements of its liquor license, which limits sales of alcohol to members only. Id.

In November 1987, the Watsons received an invitation to attend a party at the Local 555 hall. The guests of honor were Tom and Cheri Huskey, whom Ivory Watson had met through a youth baseball league. After winning the lottery, the Huskeys moved to California from Akron, and for Thanksgiving that year they had decided to come back to visit their old friends. Looking for a place large enough to hold all of the invited guests, one of the Huskeys’ friends, B.Y.,2 suggested the Local 555 hall. B.Y. was a member of the Local 555 Ladies Auxiliary and could invite an unlimited number of guests to the hall. Mr. Huskey had been a member of Local 555 before he moved to California. He and his wife sent out postcards to their friends, including the Watsons. B.Y. did not limit the number or review the identity of any of the guests.

On the day of the party, the Watsons went to the Local 555 hall, rang a doorbell, and were admitted by a buzzer system, apparently sight unseen. Most of the twenty-odd party guests and the Huskeys had already arrived, and the party spread between the banquet room and the social room. Despite Local 555’s stated rules to the contrary, some of the guests had purchased drinks at the bar; no one was required to prove membership in Local 555, or the Eagles, generally to buy a drink. Guests moved freely around the facility. B.Y. was working at the bar. The Watsons were the only blacks at the party.

The Watsons and defendants offer very different versions of what happened next. Because the Watsons lost on summary judgment, we will accept the facts as they aver them.

The Watsons claim that B.Y. approached Mrs. Huskey privately and told her that blacks were not welcome at the Local 555 hall. Mrs.

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Bluebook (online)
915 F.2d 235, 1990 WL 140047, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/watson-v-fraternal-order-of-eagles-ca6-1990.