City of Shelton v. Collins

• Decision Date: 14 March 2014
• Docket Number: Civil No. 3:12cv1176 (JBA)
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: CITY OF SHELTON, Plaintiff, v. GARY H. COLLINS, et al., Defendants.

CITY OF SHELTON, Plaintiff, v. GARY H. COLLINS, et al., Defendants.

Civil No. 3:12cv1176 (JBA)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT

March 14, 2014

RULING GRANTING DEFENDANTS' SECOND MOTION TO DISMISS

Plaintiff City of Shelton ("City") is a municipal corporation organized under the laws of the State of Connecticut. After being named as a respondent in two cases before the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities ("CHRO"), the City sued Defendants in their official capacities—Gary H. Collins, the CHRO Chairperson, and Tanya Hughes, the CHRO Interim Executive Director. Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint [Doc. # 56] asserts claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Fourteenth Amendment and the Supremacy Clause art. VI, cl. 2 of the United States Constitution, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et. seq. as amended by and including the Civil Rights Act of 1991, and the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201, seeking the following declaratory and injunctive relief: (1) a temporary and permanent injunction prohibiting Defendants from prosecuting, adjudicating, and enforcing Title VII or any other federal law; (2) a declaratory judgment holding that the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act ("CFEPA"), Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46a-58a, violates the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Supremacy Clause, and the Seventh Amendment of the United States Constitution; (3) an order requiring Defendants to provide notice ofthis Court's decision in this case to future parties in CHRO adjudication; and (4) attorneys' fees and costs.

Defendants move [Doc. # 60] to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). For the reasons that follow, Defendants' motion is granted.

I. Facts

A. CHRO Background

Because Plaintiff challenges the constitutionality of the CHRO's procedures, an overview of the agency's procedures is provided. The CHRO "is a state agency established under state law to enforce state-created rights,"¹ Holt v. Cont'l Grp., Inc., 631 F. Supp. 653, 657 (D. Conn. 1985) (citing Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 46a-52, 54, 56, 60, 82), and is also a certified designated agency of the EEOC. 29 C.F.R. § 1601.80. Because Connecticut is a "deferral state," before filing a Title VII claim with the EEOC, a complainant must first file with the CHRO. See Doe v. Odili Technologies, Inc., No. 3:96cv1957 (AHN), 1997 WL 317316, at *2 (D. Conn. May 25, 1997). After a complaint alleging a discriminatory practice is filed with the CHRO and the respondent files an answer, the CHRO conducts a "Merit Assessment Review." Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 46a-83(a), 46a-83(b); Conn. Agencies Regs. § 46a-54-49a.

In the Merit Assessment Review, the executive director or a designee reviews the complaint, answer, reply, and responses to requests for information. Conn. Agencies Regs. § 46a-54-49a(a). The complaint is dismissed after the Merit Assessment Review if it is frivolous or fails to state a claim, if the respondent is exempt from the relevant statutes, or if there is no reasonable possibility that an investigation of the complaint will result in finding "reasonable cause" to believe that the alleged conduct occurred.² Id. § 46a-54-49a(b).

Once a claim has passed Merit Assessment Review, the CHRO decides whether to conduct an investigation, mandatory mediation, or both. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46a-83(c). CHRO mediators cannot order a resolution. Conn. Agencies Regs. § 46a-54-56a(h). An investigation is conducted by the CHRO in fact-finding conferences in which the CHRO may request the presence of witnesses and compel production of documents. Id. § 46a-54-59a. If there is sufficient evidence to make a determination, the CHRO investigator considers the parties' comments on the CHRO's findings and analysis of the claims. Id. § 46a-54-59a. Then, the CHRO investigator issues a determination of whether there is reasonable cause to believe that the alleged discriminatory conduct occurred. Id. §§ 46a-54-60a, 46a-54-61a.

If after a finding of reasonable cause the parties fail to resolve their dispute, the complaint is certified for contested case proceedings. Id. § 46a-54-78a(b). The Chief Human Rights Referee appoints a Human Rights Referee to preside over the proceedings, which "provide the parties with a reasonable opportunity, as determined by the presidingofficer, to present evidence and examine and compel the attendance of witnesses for resolution and disposition of the complaint on its merits." Id § 46a-54-79a.

At the conclusion of the contested case proceedings, if the Human Rights Referee finds discriminatory conduct, the referee issues an order to cease and desist. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46a-86. The referee may also order the hiring or reinstatement of employees, award damages, attorney's fees and costs. Id. A party aggrieved by a final order of a Human Rights Referee may appeal to the Superior Court in accordance with Conn Gen. Stat. § 4-183. Id. § 46a-94a. The Superior Court's review is "confined to the record" produced by the agency, although additional facts to establish procedural irregularities may be admitted. Id. § 4-183(i). The Superior Court "shall not substitute its judgment for that of the agency as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact," Id. § 4-183(j), and "shall affirm" the CHRO unless the "substantial rights" of the appellant have been prejudiced because

the administrative findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions are: (1) in violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; (2) in excess of the statutory authority of the agency; (3) made upon unlawful procedure; (4) affected by other error of law; (5) clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record;[³] or (6) arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.

Id.

B. Factual Allegations

Plaintiff alleges the following facts. It was a party in two cases before the CHRO. First, McGorty v. City of Shelton Fire Dep't, (CHRO No. 0930371 and EEOC No. 16A-2009-01129) involved allegations of discrimination under both Title VII and the CFEPA, Conn. Gen. Stat.§ 46a-60. "[F]ollowing an investigator's finding of reasonable cause . . . [Plaintiff] faced being compelled by Defendants to submit to CHRO adjudication of the employee's Title VII claim under threat of adverse findings, orders of default, damages, fees, penalties, costs and attorney's fees." (2d Am. Compl. ¶¶ 10-11.) As a result, the City entered into a settlement agreement with the complainant. (Id. ¶ 11.)

The second case, Puryear v. Echo Hose Ambulance Corps and City of Shelton (CHRO No. 1130518), alleged racial discrimination in violation of Title VII and the CFEPA. On January 10, 2013, the case was dismissed in favor of the City on the basis that as a volunteer firefighter, Puryear had "failed to allege sufficient facts to support the existence of an employment relationship." (Id. ¶¶ 12-13.) On March 25, 2013, the CHRO appealed this administrative decision on behalf of Puryear to the Superior Court, which affirmed the dismissal of the CHRO complaint. See Comm'n on Human Rights & Opportunities v. Echo Hose Ambulance, CV136019858S, 2013 WL 7020546 (Conn. Super. Ct. Dec. 23, 2013);⁴ (Id. ¶ 14.)

Plaintiff alleges that Defendant's Human Rights Referees in presiding over "public hearings," which are administrative hearings or "contested cases" governed by theConnecticut Uniform Administrative Procedure Act, (id. ¶ 15), "unlawfully prosecute Title VII claims," depriving parties of "civil discovery, an Article III judge, jury, or appeal to a federal Court of Appeals" (id. ¶¶ 15-16, 30.) The crux of Plaintiff's claim is that by asserting "jurisdiction over any deprivation of rights protected by the laws of the United States" (id. ¶ 19), the CHRO unlawfully adjudicates federal claims "under the ruse" of a state statute (id. ¶ 20) and thereby imports federal remedies into CHRO proceedings which are not otherwise available under the CFEPA, while simultaneously denying respondents like Plaintiff the rights and procedures to which they are entitled under Title VII.⁵

C. Procedural History

After Plaintiff filed its Amended Complaint, both CHRO actions pending against it were concluded. The City prevailed in Puryear at the CHRO Office of Public Hearings (and subsequently at the Superior Court), and it settled McGorty. In light of those developments discussed at oral argument on Defendants' first motion to dismiss, the Court denied [Doc. # 54] Defendants' motion to dismiss without prejudice to renewal, and allowed Plaintiff to file a second amended complaint and to conduct limited discovery regarding Defendants' Eleventh Amendment immunity claims.

II. Discussion⁶

Defendants' motion to dismiss is brought on six grounds: (1) Plaintiff lacks standing; (2) Plaintiff has not asserted a viable claim under the Declaratory Judgment Act; (3) Plaintiff's claims are not ripe; (4) Plaintiff's claims are moot; (5) Plaintiff has failed to comply with the statutory prerequisites for a Title VII claim; and (6) Plaintiff's suit is barred by the Eleventh Amendment. (Defs.' Mem. Supp. [Doc. # 61] at 8.) The Court concludes that dismissal is required by the Eleventh Amendment.

The Eleventh Amendment provides:

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

U.S. Const. amend. XI. "'Although the text of the Amendment would appear to restrict only the Article III diversity jurisdiction of the federal courts,' it has been construed more broadly to render states and their agencies immune from suits brought by private partiesin federal court." In re Charter Oak Associates, 361 F.3d 760, 765 (2d Cir. 2004) (quoting Seminole Tribe of Fla. v. Florida, 517 U.S. 44, 54 (1996)).

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