E.E.O.C. v. Anderson's Restaurant of Charlotte, Inc.
| Decision Date | 24 March 1992 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 90-2119,90-2120,s. 90-2119 |
| Citation | 958 F.2d 367 |
| Parties | NOTICE: Fourth Circuit I.O.P. 36.6 states that citation of unpublished dispositions is disfavored except for establishing res judicata, estoppel, or the law of the case and requires service of copies of cited unpublished dispositions of the Fourth Circuit. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ANDERSON'S RESTAURANT OF CHARLOTTE, INC., Defendant-Appellee. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ANDERSON'S RESTAURANT OF CHARLOTTE, INC., Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Robert D. Potter, Chief District Judge. (CA-86-2-C-C-P)
Argued: Estelle Diane Franklin, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Washington, D.C., for appellant; Philip Marshall Van Hoy, Van Hoy & Reutlinger, Charlotte, N.C., for appellee.
On Brief: Donald R. Livingston, Acting General Counsel, Gwendolyn Young Reams, Associate General Counsel, Lorraine C. Davis, Assistant General Counsel, Carolyn L. Wheeler, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Washington, D.C., for appellant.
Before ERVIN, Chief Judge, and WIDENER and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.
This appeal arises from the district court's award of $4,922.33 in attorney's fees to Anderson's Restaurant in an employment discrimination action brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Commission) pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. The Commission argues that the district court erred in awarding any fees to the defendant. Anderson's Restaurant, on its cross appeal, contends that the district court improperly denied its request for additional attorney's fees. For the reasons set forth below, we are unpersuaded by the arguments of both parties and affirm the judgment of the district court.
In January 1986, the Commission instituted a Title VII action against Anderson's Restaurant on the basis of an alleged pattern and practice of refusing to hire blacks as waitresses or cashiers. The Commission sought both general injunctive relief and individual relief involving hiring and back pay for seven claimants. After a bench trial, the district court found that Anderson's Restaurant had indeed engaged in a pattern and practice of racial discrimination. E.E.O.C. v. Anderson's Restaurant, 666 F.Supp. 821, 842 (W.D.N.C.1987). The court enjoined Anderson's Restaurant from engaging in such discrimination and directed it to provide equal employment opportunities for black applicants. 666 F.Supp. at 847. The Commission's requests for individual relief, on the other hand, were denied by the district court on the grounds that the named individuals had either not applied for jobs at Anderson's Restaurant or had less experience at the position sought than the applicant who was hired. 666 F.Supp. at 843-46.
On appeal, the district court's finding of a pattern and practice of discrimination and its order of general injunctive relief were upheld. E.E.O.C. v. Anderson's Restaurant, Nos. 87-3154, 87-3161 (4th Cir. March 24, 1989). With regard to the individual claims, the Commission on appeal argued for the first time that there was more than one vacancy at the cashier position during the relevant period. If true, this fact would have been relevant to two of the individual claims for relief. It was accordingly decided that the case be remanded to the district court in order to determine the number of vacancies.
On remand, the Commission engaged in discovery related to its claim that more than one cashier vacancy existed during the pertinent period. It thereafter filed a motion to dismiss with prejudice, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(a)(2), the claims for individual relief that were the subject of the remand order. In this motion, the Commission conceded that there was no "present basis" for these claims. The district court granted the motion to dismiss on January 31, 1990. It also awarded Anderson's Restaurant the amount of $4,922.33, an award that essentially represented expenses, costs and fees incurred after the case was remanded to the district court. The parties subsequently filed motions to alter or amend the judgment. Anderson's Restaurant requested that the award be increased by $12,250.35 and the Commission asked that the district court reconsider its prior fee award. The court denied the motions of both parties and this appeal followed.
Under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k), it lies within the discretion of a district court to award attorney's fees to a prevailing party in a Title VII case. Such an award may be given to a prevailing defendant if the court finds that "the plaintiff's action was frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation, even though not brought in subjective bad faith" or that "the ...
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