William J. LYNCH, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS, INC., Defendant-Appellee

475 F.2d 764, 17 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 524, 1973 U.S. App. LEXIS 10954, 5 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 8517, 6 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 353

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

The sole issue presented by Plaintiff-Appellant in this appeal is that the trial court erred in granting the Defendant’s motion to strike Plaintiff’s motion for a jury trial. Plaintiff contended that he was discriminatorily discharged by his employer because of his race. Shunning the support of Title VII, 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e, Plaintiff cast his complaint under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1981. He sought essentially reinstatement with backpay plus compensatory and punitive damages. The trial court found that the gist of the complaint was equitable, and, accordingly, denied Plaintiff’s request for a jury trial. We affirm.

A claim for reinstatement is equitable in nature. The imposition of monetary damages to make the employee whole for lost backpay does not change the character of the proceeding and thereby mandate a jury trial. Harkless v. Sweeny Independent School District, 5 Cir., 1970, 427 F.2d 319; Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc., 5 Cir., 1969, 417 F.2d 1122; Smith v. Hampton Training School for Nurses, 4 Cir., 1966, 360 F.2d 577; Williams v. Travenol Laboratories, Inc., N.D.Miss., 1972, 344 F.Supp. 163. Neither may the Plaintiff —by framing his prayer under § 1981 or by making unsupported allegations for compensatory and punitive damages —unilaterally alter the genre of the proceeding.

Affirmed.