Baker v. Board of Regents of State of Kan.

• Decision Date: 12 April 1993
• Docket Number: No. 91-3238,91-3238
• Citation: 991 F.2d 628
• Parties: 82 Ed. Law Rep. 337, 1 A.D.D. 802, 4 NDLR P 51 Marvin D. BAKER, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. The BOARD OF REGENTS OF the STATE of KANSAS and University of Kansas Medical School--School of Medicine, Defendants/Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

Page 628

991 F.2d 628

82 Ed. Law Rep. 337, 1 A.D.D. 802, 4

NDLR P 51

Marvin D. BAKER, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. The BOARD OF REGENTS OF the STATE of KANSAS and University of Kansas Medical School--School of Medicine Defendants/Appellees.

No. 91-3238.

United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit.

April 12, 1993.

Robert E. Keeshan and Anthony D. Clum of Hamilton, Peterson, Tipton & Keeshan, Topeka, KS for plaintiff/appellant.

John C. McFadden and Steven Ruddick, University of Kansas Medical Center, Lawrence, KS, for defendants/appellees.

Before BALDOCK and SETH, Circuit Judges, and BRIMMER, District Judge. ^*

BRIMMER, District Judge.

OPINION

I.

This case involves a reverse discrimination claim arising from a denial of admission to the University of Kansas Medical School ("KUMS"). Marvin Baker ("Baker"), appellant, a white male, claims that he has been discriminated against in violation of the United States and Kansas Constitutions, and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 2000d. This is an appeal from an order of the United States District Court granting summary judgment on behalf of appellees and dismissing the appellant's amended complaint.

Baker received a letter dated January 29, 1986, denying his admission to KUMS. Although KUMS had a waiting list, and the final list of admittees was not finalized until August of 1986, the January 29, 1986 letter to Baker was a flat denial for admission. This was the third consecutive year that Baker had been denied admission to KUMS.

On February 12, 1986, Baker met with Dr. Thorkil Jensen, the Associate Dean of KUMS, to discuss the reasons for his rejection. Dr. Jensen told Baker that he had been denied admission because he had done poorly in his interview. KUMS uses four criteria for admissions: (1) G.P.A.; (2) the Medical School Admissions Test score (MCAT); (3) the advisors' recommendations, and (4) interview evaluations.

Baker graduated from Kansas University in 1984 with a GPA of 3.53 (3.64 in the basic sciences). His combined GPA/MCAT score for 1985 and 1986 was 625. On December 1, 1987, KUMS, in response to a request for information, advised Baker that he had the highest GPA/MCAT score of any Kansas resident who was denied admission in 1986. In 1986, there were at least 104 applicants with lower scores who were either admitted to KUMS or put on the waiting list. In 1985, no admitted minority had a combined GPA/MCAT score higher than Baker.

II.

The district court, in granting summary judgment to KUMS, held that Baker's federal claims were barred by a two-year statute of limitations period which began to run in late January or early February, 1986. Baker v. Bd. of Regents of the State of Kan., et al., 768 F.Supp. 1436, 1442 (D.Kan.1991). Baker filed his lawsuit on June 14, 1988.

"In reviewing a summary judgment order, the appellate court applies the same standard employed by the trial court under Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure." Osgood v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 848 F.2d 141, 143 (10th Cir.1988). The rule directs that summary judgment "shall be rendered forthwith if ... there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Thus, "[w]hen a motion for summary judgment is granted, it is the appellate court's duty to examine the record to determine if any genuine issue of material fact was in dispute; if not, the court must determine if the substantive law was correctly applied." Osgood, 848 F.2d at 143. "The moving party carries the burden of showing beyond a reasonable doubt that it is entitled to summary judgment, and the court must review the record in the light most favorable to the opposing party," Ewing v. Amoco Oil Co., 823 F.2d 1432, 1437 (10th Cir.1987).

III.

We agree with the trial court's analysis that the two year state statute of limitations should be applied to the federal law claims asserted under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 2000d, and to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 29 U.S.C. § 794, which the appellant moved to add to the complaint.

No federal statute of limitations is expressly provided for civil rights claims brought under these sections. However, Congress has directed the courts to look to state law in civil rights cases where federal law is "deficient in the provisions necessary to furnish suitable remedies ... [and the state law] is not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States...." 42 U.S.C. 1988 (1981 & Supp.1992).

The first step in selecting the applicable state statute of limitations is to characterize the essential nature of the federal action. Garcia v. Wilson, 731 F.2d 640, 642 (10th Cir.1984) aff'd, 471 U.S. 261, 105 S.Ct. 1938, 85 L.Ed.2d 254 (1985); Braden v. Texas A & M Univ. System, 636 F.2d 90, 92 (5th Cir.1981); Burns v. Sullivan, 619 F.2d 99, 105 (1st Cir.1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 893, 101 S.Ct. 256, 66 L.Ed.2d 121 (1980). Characterization of a federal claim is a matter of federal law. United Auto. Workers v. Hoosier Cardinal Corp., 383 U.S. 696, 706, 86 S.Ct. 1107, 1113, 16 L.Ed.2d 192 (1966); Garcia, 731 F.2d at 642. Section 1983 claims are best characterized as personal injury actions. Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 276, 105 S.Ct. 1938, 1947, 85 L.Ed.2d 254 (1985); Garcia, 731 F.2d at 651. This Court, using the rationale from Garcia, has also characterized section 1981 claims as actions for injury to personal rights. Equal Employment Opportunity Comm'n v. Gaddis, 733 F.2d 1373 (10th Cir.1984). Because both section 1983 and 1981 claims are actions for injury to the rights of another, the appropriate state statute of limitations is Kan.Stat.Ann. § 60-513(a)(4) (1983 & Supp.1992). ¹ Pike v. City of Mission, Kan., 731 F.2d 655, 658 (10th Cir.1984); Board of Regents of Univ. of State of N.Y. v. Tomanio, 446 U.S. 478, 485, 100 S.Ct. 1790, 1795, 64 L.Ed.2d 440 (1980) ("[T]he controlling period would ordinarily be the most appropriate one provided by state law.").

The first step in analyzing whether Kan.Stat.Ann. § 60-513(a)(4) should also apply to claims brought under 42 U.S.C. § 2000d and 29 U.S.C. § 794 is to characterize the nature of the claims. Garcia, 731 F.2d at 642. We believe the appropriate focus should not be on the remedy, but on the elements of the cause of action, because they most fully describe the essence of the claim. Id. at 650-51.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d, ² bans discrimination based upon race, color, or national origin in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. The two elements for establishing a cause of action pursuant to Title VI are (1) that there is racial or national origin discrimination and (2) the entity engaging in discrimination is receiving federal financial assistance. Jackson v. Conway, 476 F.Supp. 896, 903 (E.D.Mo.1979), aff'd, 620 F.2d 680 (8th Cir.1980).

The goal of Title VI is to "safeguard against the use of federal funds in a way that encourages or permits discrimination." U.S.C.C.A.N. 2355, 2510-13 (1964); see also Regents of Univ. of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265, 98 S.Ct. 2733, 57 L.Ed.2d 750 (1978); Brown v. Board of Educ. of Topeka, 892 F.2d 851, 887 (10th Cir.1989). Title VI is a civil rights statute, and we believe that it is closely analogous to sections 1983 and 1981. The language of Title VI specifically refers to discrimination against a "person." This language is similar to that in sections 1983 and 1981, which language protects a "person" from deprivation of rights, and which provides equal rights under the law to all "persons." An injury resulting from discrimination produces impairments and wounds to the rights and dignities of the individual. Burke v. United States, 929 F.2d 1119, 1121-22 (6th Cir.1991), rev'd on other grounds, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 1867, 119 L.Ed.2d 34 (1992).

We hereby extend the reasoning from Garcia to Title VI claims and conclude that Title VI claims are best characterized as actions for injury to personal rights. This result is consistent with our decision to adopt a general characterization for all civil rights claims based upon our perception of the nature of the claims. Garcia, 731 F.2d at 649. Characterizing all Title VI actions as claims for personal injuries "minimizes the risk that the choice of a state statute of limitations would not fairly serve the federal interests vindicated by" Title VI. See Wilson, 471 U.S. at 279, 105 S.Ct. at 1948. "Moreover, the legislative purpose to create an effective remedy for the enforcement of federal civil rights is obstructed by uncertainty in the applicable statute of limitations." Id. at 261, 105 S.Ct. at 1939. Our general characterization of Title VI claims as actions for injury to personal rights promotes a consistent and uniform framework by which suitable statutes of limitations can be determined for civil rights claims. Garcia, 731 F.2d at 643.

The appellant moved the trial court to allow it to amend its complaint to allege a cause of action under 29 U.S.C. § 794 (1985 & Supp.1992) (§ 504 of the Rehabilitation Act). ³ The trial court held that Kan.Stat.Ann. § 60-512 also applied to the appellant's cause of action under 29 U.S.C. § 794. Baker, 768 F.Supp. at 1442. We agree.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act protects an individual with handicaps from discrimination. It is a " 'civil rights statute ... closely analogous to section 1983.' " Hall v. Knott County Bd. of Educ., 941 F.2d 402, 408 (6th Cir.1991), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 982, 117 L.Ed.2d 144 (1992) quoting Alexopulos v. San Francisco Unified Sch. Dist., 817 F.2d 551, 554 (9th Cir.1987). In Wilson, the Supreme Court held that a section 1983 claim must be brought within the period prescribed by state law for personal injury actions. 471 U.S. at 276, 105 S.Ct. at 1947. Because a section 504 claim is closely analogous to section 1983, we find that section 504 claims are best characterized as claims for personal injuries.

Because...