Abdu-Brisson v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., ABDU-BRISSON

• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit)
• Citation: 73 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 45289,128 F.3d 77,74 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1849
• Docket Number: ABDU-BRISSON,No. 1144,D,1144
• Parties: 74 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1849, 73 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 45,289 Mark; Ronald H. Buchner; Gordon Burgess; Robert Burke; Thomas D. Callahan; Thomas F. Carey; Dale E. Carman; Louis Carrara; T. Barry Casey; Lamar Cason; Robert T. Cassidy; Robert Changery; Larry E. Chappel; Richard Charbonneau; Stanley Checkoway; Douglas S. Christensen; Lee J. Church; James Cirilli; Robert Clack; Walter M. Clark; Philip Claudy; Harold T. Cleaver; Charles Clements; Richard T. Clough; Lawrence D. Cobb; Wesley Collins; Ronald E. Combee; Eugene M. Comfort; Harry G. Compton; John C. Cook; Clifford Cool; David L. Cooper; Donald C. Cory; Marcus Covington; Eugene Cox; Lynn Cox; Lynn O. Cox; Howard Crowell; J.N. Crump; Charles Crumpton; Joseph C. Cushing; Edward Cywinski; Thomas G. Dahoney; Joseph Dalton; Charles R. Davis; Gerald E. Davis; Wade L. Davis; Thomas A. Dean; Ernest E. Dell, Jr.; Thomas J. Delnickas; Henry P. Denoncour; Robert Devries; Clarence J. Dieter; Charles Dike, Jr.; Gerald Dion; Jack Ditzel; Stephen A. Dodge; William W. Donnelly; Wilfredo H. Dorna; William Dorna; Charles B. Douglas; Robert H. Drozd; Vincent L. Duffy; Ralph Dunn; Richard C. Dupuis; Robert Durant; Patrick W. Dwyer; Robert R. Dzimidas; Robert Ebbler; Jack E. Eldred; Kenneth Elias; William C. Ellis; Danny A. Endresen; Lewis W. English; R. Robert English; Sigurd Eriksen; John M. Esposito; Douglas S. Eyre; Douglas L. Ezell; John R. Fahy; Jeffrey Fairbrother; Andral P. Faris; Robert Ferrel; Lewis Fielack; Jerry D. Fifer; James Flaugh; Eugene Foret; Richard Forte; Duane Foster; Francis J. Foster; David Fountain; George V. Fox; Roland M. Fraga; Robert A. Fraser; Bruce L. Frye; John Fucik; Paul J. Fuller; Edward R. Fullerton; John Gallagher; Rodger P. Galli; Frederick C. Gardner; Charles L. Garner; Edwin J. Gieger; James T. Gettys; Frank H. Gibson; John Grout; Robert P. Gunst; William Halvosa, III; D.B. Haman; Lloyd Hamilton; Ross M. Hamilton; Roberto Hanchett; Michael D. Hanley; Alvin C. Hanson; Robert Harlan; Gary Harm
• Decision Date: 15 October 1997

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128 F.3d 77 74 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1849,
73 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 45,289 Mark ABDU-BRISSON; Ronald H. Buchner; Gordon Burgess;
Robert Burke; Thomas D. Callahan; Thomas F. Carey; Dale
E. Carman; Louis Carrara; T. Barry Casey; Lamar Cason;
Robert T. Cassidy; Robert Changery; Larry E. Chappel;
Richard Charbonneau; Stanley Checkoway; Douglas S.
Christensen; Lee J. Church; James Cirilli; Robert Clack;
Walter M. Clark; Philip Claudy; Harold T. Cleaver;
Charles Clements; Richard T. Clough; Lawrence D. Cobb;
Wesley Collins; Ronald E. Combee; Eugene M. Comfort;
Harry G. Compton; John C. Cook; Clifford Cool; David L.
Cooper; Donald C. Cory; Marcus Covington; Eugene Cox;
Lynn Cox; Lynn O. Cox; Howard Crowell; J.N. Crump;
Charles Crumpton; Joseph C. Cushing; Edward Cywinski;
Thomas G. Dahoney; Joseph Dalton; Charles R. Davis;
Gerald E. Davis; Wade L. Davis; Thomas A. Dean; Ernest E.
Dell, Jr.; Thomas J. Delnickas; Henry P. Denoncour;
Robert Devries; Clarence J. Dieter; Charles Dike, Jr.;
Gerald Dion; Jack Ditzel; Stephen A. Dodge; William W.
Donnelly; Wilfredo H. Dorna; William Dorna; Charles B.
Douglas; Robert H. Drozd; Vincent L. Duffy; Ralph Dunn;
Richard C. Dupuis; Robert Durant; Patrick W. Dwyer;
Robert R. Dzimidas; Robert Ebbler; Jack E. Eldred;
Kenneth Elias; William C. Ellis; Danny A. Endresen; Lewis
W. English; R. Robert English; Sigurd Eriksen; John M.
Esposito; Douglas S. Eyre; Douglas L. Ezell; John R.
Fahy; Jeffrey Fairbrother; Andral P. Faris; Robert
Ferrel; Lewis Fielack; Jerry D. Fifer; James Flaugh;
Eugene Foret; Richard Forte; Duane Foster; Francis J.
Foster; David Fountain; George V. Fox; Roland M. Fraga;
Robert A. Fraser; Bruce L. Frye; John Fucik; Paul J.
Fuller; Edward R. Fullerton; John Gallagher; Rodger P.
Galli; Frederick C. Gardner; Charles L. Garner; Edwin J.
Gieger; James T. Gettys; Frank H. Gibson; John Grout;
Robert P. Gunst; William Halvosa, III; D.B. Haman; Lloyd
Hamilton; Ross M. Hamilton; Roberto Hanchett; Michael D.
Hanley; Alvin C. Hanson; Robert Harlan; Gary Harmon;
Gary L. Harris; Robert S. Harris; Dan H. Harrison; Nile
L. Harter; Joseph Haselby; William Herndon; Donald C.
Hertzfeldt; Larry Hess; Lon Hicks; Carl E. Hindle;
Richard Hohlowski; Frederick W. Holtgrave; Daniel E. Hood;
William N. Hoover; Michael R. Hopkins; Darryl G. Hubbard;
John E. Hubbard; Stanley C. Huie; Arnold Husemann; O.H.
Hutchins; Rayford Hymes; John Iisager; Andrew C. Isola;
A. Allen Jackson; David H. Jenkins; William K. Jillson;
James C. Johnson; Robert Johnson; Ronald W. Johnson;
Terrill C. Johnson; J.J. Jones; M. Perry Jones; Terrell
Jones; Dean Jung; Herman T. Kamerman; H.L. Karasoff;
William G. Karns; Gary R. Kasper; Patrick T. Kavanagh;
Ralph B. Abrames; Delbert R. Ackley; George Adalian; John
R. Adkins; Steven A. Aigner; James Ainsworth; David R.
Albert; William Allen; Charles Amacker; Joseph Anderson;
Joseph Anding; Wilbert Z. Antill; Eric Archer; Stuart H.
Archer; Joseph A. Armstrong; Leonard R. Atlas; George J.
Avery; Chester Bailey; Larry Baker; John M. Bandy;
Richard Barker; Mohammad Bashir; Peter P. Bendzlowicz;
Joseph J. Bennett; Peter Bennett; William O. Bennett;
David Benson; Thomas R. Bentley; Michael Berry; James
Bethel; Robert Beziat; Gordon M. Biggar; Stephen Blank;
David Bloss; James Bloyder; Charles J. Bonini; Marc L.
Bornn; Walter Bosselman; Steven D. Bowden; Ned C. Bowers;
James W. Bowles; Gary W. Brandt; Stephen W. Brandt;
Curtis H. Briggs; Donald Brodheur; Stephen A. Brodhecker;
Alwyn Brown; Robert Brown; James Browne; Robert P. Gick;
Donald R. Giddens; Joseph A. Giddings; Bernard D. Hgiere;
Norman Girouard; Charles F. Gladish; Thomas E. Gompf;
Jack D. Gordon; Corad Conrad Gosheff; Alton G. Graham;
Ritchie L. Griffith; Kenneth R. Gross; Paul Frederick
Johnson; David Kawamoto, Kevin P. Kehoe; Richard D. Kelly;
Greg Kerhulisl; H.W. King; Christopher Kipfer; David R.
Kirschner; Roger L. Klein; William Kline; Richard
Klinicki; Stephen M. Korcheck; John Kuhs; William Kunz;
Enrigue J. Lanz; Leland T. Larson; Richard Laumeyer;
Warner F. Lee; Albert Leet; Frank M. Lenz; Ira Leshin;
John W. Lewis; Edward R. Lindgren; B.L. Lindsay; William
H. Linkroum, III; Gordon M. Littlefield; David Loomis;
Frederick Losen; James V. Loven; Daniel W. Lovett; Edward
J. Lynch; M. Lyon; Richard Mack; Michael Macquarrie;
Dennis Maddux; Edward A. Maiellaro; Robert Manske; Sidney
S. Margrey; Anthony Marmon; Frank Martin; Roderick
Martindale; John H. Mascali; Robert J. Massey; Robert
Paul Massi; Michael M. Matei; Brian P. Mattiesen; Richard
Mayer; Dale Q. Mayo; Thomas Mays; Benedict L. McAlevey;
Guy L. McCafferty; Patrick McCallum; Jim M. McConnell;
Robert B. McEachran; James McFarlane; William McInroe;
Edward A. McKay; Kenneth R. McKee; Hudnalle McLean;
Michael T. McQuillen; Christopher L. Mega; R. Merrill;
Lawrence E. Meyer; James W. Michel; Gordon Miller;
Gregory Miller; Joseph P. Miller; Richard L. Mitts; Einar
J. Mogensen; William J. Mooney; James Moore; Mark Moore;
Robert L. Morey; Peter J. Moriarty; J. Edwin Morse;
Gordon S. Moyer; Hay Muffett; Charles F. Mulin; Richard
Muller; John Neill; Jack A. Nelson; Jeffrey S. Nelson;
Larry Nelson; Leonard M. Nelson; Van Nelson; Jackson I.
Newberry; Vernon J. Nordman; Yan Novak; John M. Nunez;
James R. Nuss; Robert Ober; Stuart A. O'Brien; Charles W.
O'Connor; Michael O'Donnell; Kenneth Olson; Laurence H.
Omura; Clyde Orr; John F. O'Ryan; Robert L. Osburn; Lane
Overstreet; Robert B. Owen; Capt. Dennis A. Panzer; Henry
Papa; Theodore Pateas; John C. Patten; Bruce Patzmann;
Richard V. Paul; Frederick Pearce; Paul Pearce; Robert A.
Penn; Richard A. Perkins; Capt. T.C. Pestolis; Stephen T.
Petersen; David H. Peterson; Robert Peterson; Kenneth M.
Pfrang; James Larry Phillips; William Picken; P.A.
Pierce; Richard Pipkin; Vincent Pischl; Curtis R. Platte;
Richard P. Platts; Dwight Plyler; Jimmie R. Pollock;
John T. Pool; John C. Popkess; Randal L. Porter;
Frederick R. Pouy; John R. Ramey; Norman W. Reagan; John
H. Reeves; Michael Reichfeld; Arnold Reiner; Forrest
Rhodes; Harold W. Rhodes; Henry H. Rhyne; William L.
Rice; James Richards; Henry Richardson; John B.
Riederich; Robert Rigney; Randolph Rime; James David
Roach; James N. Robertson; Richard P. Robinette; Jack
Rocchio; Robert Rognlien; William C. Rose; Edmond
Rousseau; John Rudl; Kenneth B. Ruhm; Terry Rush; Philip
M. Ruth; Robert F. Sabbatino; Salvatore Sallibello; Kit
Sanders; Anthony R. Saporito; James P. Sasserl; Frank
Savino; P. Sayers; Francis E. Schlater; Jerry Schnell;
Donald J. Scholtz; Paul W. Scholz; Harry Schoning; Allen
Schwab; James G. Schwalbert; Carl D. Scrivener; Laurence
E. Senn; Ralph M. Shape; Jimmy R. Shaw; Michael Shea;
George Sheasley; T.B. Sheehan; Jay F. Shinn; Jimmy H.
Shuman; David M. Simpler; D.B. Siotkas; John Skinner;
John E. Skomars; Kenneth Slobody; Robert R. Smedley;
James Smiley; B. Stan Smith; Calvin Smith; Don P. Smith;
Wayne A. Soliday; Richard Somoya; James F. Sonnhalter;
Edward W. Speirs; Charles C. Spencer; Leon Spinney; Terry
J. Spring; Robert G. Stalvey; Kenneth J. Steffan; Leonard
A. Stiller; Thomas J. Stone; Whitney Strain; James
Stuart; Donald R. Stubbs; Robert Sturgeon; Jimmy L.
Talkington; Charles Tarpley; James R. Taylor; H.J.
Tedesco; Paul T. Thatcher; Jack Thomas; John M. Thomas;
Brenda A. Thompson; George F. Thompson; Thomas H. Tingle;
Emmett R. Titshaw; Henry Tooke; William W. Travis;
Anthony Tripoli; Jerry Trott; James Vandemark; S.B.
Vangorder; Thomas Vannote; Wayne A. Veeneman; Rafel E.
Velez; James A. Verschage; David M. Viken; James S.
Vitale; Lloyd S. Voogt; Robert Voss; Bruce A. Wadiak;
James Waeber; Neal Waldron; Joseph R. Walker; David E.B.
Ward; Daniel Watrous; Ronald Weaver; Randol B. Webb;
Brian Weisblat; Larry J. Welch; Peter J. Wenk; Donald
W. Wetmore; Curt J. Wetzel; Austin Whelihan; Jack L.
Whicker; James H. White; R.O. White; William O. White;
J.B. Williams; C.R. Williams; J.A. Wills; Donald L.
Wilson; James R. Wiltjer; John Stephen Woelfel; Leonard
R. Wohletz; Mark M. Wohlmuth; Clifton Woodworth; Donald
E. Wright; F.E. Wright; Rufus Yarbrough; David Yarri;
James York; Gordon Young; Otis B. Young; Wayne Young;
Forrest Zetterberg; Ronald J. Zimmerman; James Zurcher and
Pan Am Pilots John Does 489 through 700, Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
DELTA AIR LINES, INC., Defendant-Appellee. No. 1144, Docket 96-7721. United States Court of Appeals,
Second Circuit. Argued March 6, 1997.
Decided Oct. 15, 1997.

Page 79

Edward J.M. Little, Zuckerman, Spaeder, Goldstein, Taylor & Kolker, for Appellants

Stuart H. Bompey, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, for Appellee.

Before: WALKER, McLAUGHLIN, and WOOD, JR., ^* Circuit Judges.

HARLINGTON WOOD, JR., Circuit Judge.

Plaintiffs-appellants are 488 former pilots of Pan American World Airways ("Pan Am")

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hired in 1991 either as captains or first officers by defendant Delta Air Lines at the time of Pan Am's bankruptcy. As a part of a bankruptcy transaction Delta also acquired certain of Pan Am's routes, aircraft, and other employees not involved in this litigation.

The problem at the heart of this case arises because plaintiffs, Pan Am's pilots, are generally older than Delta's pilots with whom plaintiffs had to be integrated. To effect the pilot assimilation the Air Line Pilots Association International and Delta entered into a supplemental collective bargaining agreement. Plaintiffs now claim that three of the terms of their Delta employment violate New York city and New York state law. Those employment terms relate to seniority rights, post-retirement medical benefits, and salaries.

Plaintiffs filed their complaint in the New York State Supreme Court in 1994 asserting claims under the New York State Human Rights Law ("State HRL"), New York Exec. Law § 296 (McKinney 1993), and the New York City Human Rights Law ("City HRL"), N.Y. City Adminis. Code §§ 8-107(1)(a) and (c) 8-107(17). Specifically, the plaintiffs claim that Delta illegally discriminated...