Brooks v. Dist. Hosp. Partners
| Decision Date | 01 June 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 09-7036.,09-7036. |
| Parties | Monica BROOKS and Tracee Taylor, on behalf of Themselves and All Others Similarly Situated, Appellantsv.DISTRICT HOSPITAL PARTNERS, L.P., Doing Business as George Washington University Hospital, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit |
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Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (No. 1:01-cv-02361-HHK-AK).
S. Micah Salb, argued the cause and filed the briefs, for appellants.
Jennifer S. Goldstein, Attorney, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, argued, the cause and filed the brief as amicus curiae, for appellants.
Elisha A. King, pro hac vice, argued the cause for appellee. With her on the brief were Charles B. Wayne and Jamie M. Konn.
Before: SENTELLE, Chief Judge, BROWN and GRIFFITH, Circuit Judges.
Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge BROWN.
Appellants challenge the dismissal of their Title VII employment discrimination claims. Conversely, appellee contends the dismissal was proper and, further, that this court does not have jurisdiction to review the dismissal because it was not a final decision of the district court. We reverse the dismissal and remand for further proceedings, finding this court has jurisdiction to hear the appeal and that the district court improperly held that appellants did not exhaust their administrative remedies.
This appeal is merely the latest procedural cul-de-sac off what has been a long and winding road of litigation in this case. That road originated over a decade ago when defendant George Washington University Hospital 1 decided to eliminate the position of “Nursing Assistant” from its employment classifications and replace it with the position of “Multi-Skilled Technician.” Nursing Assistants, as the title suggests, assisted registered nurses in basic tasks. MSTs, however, were to perform the tasks of Nursing Assistants and also undertake a wider array of responsibilities.
All Nursing Assistants were invited by GWUH to apply for MST positions by taking a three-part screening test to measure their ability to succeed in a subsequent MST training program. Nursing Assistants who failed any part of the screening test were offered remedial training and an opportunity to retake the failed portions of the test. A second failure disqualified them from the training program. Nursing Assistants who passed the initial screening test entered a MST training program that required successful completion of competency tests. A Nursing Assistant failing any one of those ten tests could obtain remedial training and another chance to be tested. A second failure eliminated the candidate from the program. A Nursing Assistant who passed the post-training tests received one of the MST positions. For those MST positions still vacant, GWUH accepted applications from external applicants. These applicants took the same initial screening test to determine whether they possessed the minimum proficiency to perform the MST job. Successful external applicants did not participate in a MST training program; instead, they had to demonstrate the ability to perform MST duties and were subject to an interview process.
Renae Marable, a Nursing Assistant, passed the initial screening test but was eliminated from the hiring process after failing one of the ten MST competency tests. She filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of herself and all other similarly situated former Nursing Assistants who were subjected to the three-part screening test. Joining her complaint were specific persons listed in an attachment to the filing. Marable alleged the screening test measured skills unrelated to the MST job and discriminated against African-American Nursing Assistants. The EEOC investigation evaluated data related to both Nursing Assistants and external applicants and found no statutory violation. It concluded the screening test was a valid means of measuring MST skills and the most effective among a number of means considered by GWUH. The EEOC notified Marable of its finding and issued her a right-to-sue letter certifying that she exhausted her administrative remedies and could pursue judicial relief against GWUH.
In 2001, Marable and five co-plaintiffs filed a lawsuit alleging the screening test and the ten training program tests were discriminatory. The complaint also requested class action certification to represent all other Nursing Assistants similarly situated. In 2004, the plaintiffs moved to extend the class to cover external applicants for the MST position. That motion was denied by the district court because the proposed class did not exhibit the requisite commonality and typicality under Fed.R.Civ.P. 23. See Mem. Op. & Order Marable v. Dist. Hosp. Partners, L.P., No. 01-02361 at 12, 2006 WL 2547992 (D.D.C. Aug. 31, 2006). The court raised the possibility of two subclasses-one for Nursing Assistants and one for external applicants-but determined neither would be certifiable: a Nursing Assistant subclass would not be numerous enough; an external applicant subclass would have no named plaintiff who could act as a proper subclass representative. See id. at 12-14, 2006 WL 2547992.
In response, the plaintiffs moved to add as intervenors two external applicants who failed the three-part screening test: Monica Brooks and Tracee Taylor, the appellants in this appeal. The district court granted the motion. Prior to joining the suit, Brooks and Taylor had not lodged a complaint against GWUH with the EEOC. Ordinarily, parties must file timely charges with the EEOC prior to pursuing relief in court see McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 798, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). However, the district court allowed Brooks and Taylor to intervene under the “single-filing” exception to the normal rule. See Mem. Op. & Order Marable, No. 01-02361 at 5-6, 2008 WL 5973384 . That exception allows non-filing parties to join the suit of another similarly situated plaintiff who did file an administrative complaint against the same defendant. See Foster v. Gueory, 655 F.2d 1319, 1322 (D.C.Cir.1981).
With seemingly eligible class representatives included as intervenors, the plaintiffs moved for class certification for all external applicants. This time, the district court denied certification because it found Brooks and Taylor to be improper class representatives. Although Brooks and Taylor were allowed to join the Marable suit without personally filing an EEOC complaint, the district court concluded a proposed class representative must personally exhaust administrative remedies as a “condition precedent to sustaining a class action under Title VII.” Mem. Op. & Order Marable v. District Hosp. Partners, L.P., No. 01-02361 at 4, 2008 WL 5501106 (D.D.C. Dec. 1, 2008). The plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration, and the district court denied it.
While the motion for reconsideration was pending, Marable voluntarily dismissed her individual claim with prejudice. Brooks and Taylor moved to sever their claims from the remaining Nursing Assistant plaintiffs under Fed. R. Civ. P. 42(b). The district court granted their motion but issued an order for Brooks and Taylor to show cause why their claims should not be dismissed and, after reviewing submissions from both sides, dismissed Brooks' and Taylor's claims without further explanation. See Order, Marable v. Dist. Hosp. Partners, No. 01-02361, 2009 WL 1064479 (D.D.C. Mar. 13, 2009).
Brooks and Taylor appealed that dismissal. This court ordered them to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b). See Order, Brooks v. Dist. Hosp. Partners, L.P., No. 09-7036 (D.C.Cir. Apr. 6, 2009). Under that rule, an order in a multiple claim or multiple party case that adjudicates fewer than all the claims or the rights of fewer than all the parties is not reviewable absent a certification from the district court that the order is a final judgment. Appellants subsequently moved for certification in the district court, which granted the motion. The court confirmed that it had “severed the claims of Brooks and Taylor ... [and] dismissed the[ir] claims ... in their entirety for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.” Order, Marable, No. 01-02361, 2008 WL 5973384 . In response to appellants' motion to amend the certification order to explicitly weigh Rule 54(b) considerations, the district court issued an amended order noting that a certification of finality served equitable interests and was not detrimental to judicial economy. See Order, Brooks v. Dist. Hosp. Partners, L.P., No. 01-02361 at 1-2 (D.D.C. June 19, 2009). This court discharged its earlier show cause order and directed the parties to address the jurisdictional issue in their main briefing.
We first consider this court's jurisdiction to hear the appeal. The federal appellate power generally covers only “final decisions of the district courts,” 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Therefore, we must determine the validity of the district court's Rule 54(b) order certifying the dismissal of appellants' claims as final. Two questions form that determination: whether the dismissal was eligible for certification as a final judgment under the criteria established by Rule 54(b) and whether the district court adequately weighed the relevant equities when deciding to grant the certification. We review the first question de novo and the second question for abuse of discretion. See Bldg. Indus. Assoc. v. Babbitt, 161 F.3d 740, 743-44 (D.C.Cir.1998).
On the first question, GWUH argues the dismissal of appellants' claims cannot be considered final under Rule 54(b) because, prior to dismissal, the district court severed the claims from those of the Nursing Assistants pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 42(b). That rule empowers ...
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