E.E.O.C. v. W.H. Braum, Inc.

• Decision Date: 28 October 2003
• Docket Number: No. 02-7046.,02-7046.
• Citation: 347 F.3d 1192
• Parties: EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. W.H. BRAUM, INC., d/b/a Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Store, an Oklahoma corporation, Defendant-Appellee. Eva Willis, Movant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

347 F.3d 1192

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. W.H. BRAUM, INC., d/b/a Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Store, an Oklahoma corporation, Defendant-Appellee.

Eva Willis, Movant.

No. 02-7046.

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

October 28, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Joseph A. Seiner (Nicholas M. Inzeo, Acting Deputy General Counsel, Philip B. Sklover, Associate General Counsel and Carolyn L. Wheeler, Assistant General Counsel, on the briefs), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of General Counsel, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Jim T. Priest (and Robert E. Norman, with him on the brief), McKinney & Stringer, P.C., Oklahoma City, OK, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before EBEL, BALDOCK, and KELLY, Circuit Judges.

PAUL KELLY, Jr., Circuit Judge.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") sued Defendant W.H. Braum, Inc. ("Braum") on behalf of Eva Willis alleging disability employment discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"). 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111-17. Prior to the EEOC's suit, Ms. Willis filed suit individually against Braum in federal court alleging a violation of the ADA. However, immediately after filing suit, Ms. Willis dismissed the action without prejudice. The EEOC subsequently brought this suit on her behalf. On Braum's motion to dismiss, the district court, importing a state statute of limitations, held Ms. Willis was now barred from reasserting her federal ADA claim. Based on its holding that Ms. Willis was time-barred, the district court held the EEOC could not seek individual monetary relief on Ms. Willis's behalf and limited the EEOC to injunctive relief. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). We reverse and remand.

Background

Eva Willis claims she applied for a position and was denied employment at Braum's store in Madill, Oklahoma on December 1, 1997. Aplt.App. at 20. The parties agree that Ms. Willis filed a timely charge of discrimination with the EEOC on August 3, 1998, claiming Braum discriminated against her on the basis of a disability in violation of the ADA. Id. at 22, 30.

On November 29, 1999, more than 180 days after she filed her charge with the EEOC, Ms. Willis filed a lawsuit against Braum in federal district court alleging discrimination under the ADA, as well as state law claims for employment discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Id. at 23. Before Braum filed any responsive pleadings, however, Ms. Willis dismissed the suit without prejudice on December 27, 1999. Id. The EEOC subsequently filed this suit against Braum on Ms. Willis's behalf on June 21, 2001. Although Ms. Willis refiled her state law claims in state court in January 2001, she never refiled her federal ADA claim. Her state court action was subsequently removed to federal court and consolidated with this action. Id.

In September 2001, Braum filed a partial motion to dismiss, alleging that Ms. Willis was time-barred from bringing her state law claims under Oklahoma's state statute of limitations. In addition, Braum argued that Oklahoma's limitation period also precluded Ms. Willis from refiling her federal ADA claim. Finally, Braum argued that because Ms. Willis's ADA claim was time-barred, the EEOC was also barred from seeking any individual relief on her behalf. The district court agreed, dismissing Ms. Willis's state law claims as time-barred. In addition, the court applied Oklahoma's state statute of limitations to hold that Ms. Willis was barred from reasserting her federal ADA claim. Based on the determination that Ms. Willis was barred from seeking relief under the federal ADA, the district court concluded "the EEOC cannot recover monetary or benefit relief on her behalf." Aplt.App. at 25.

The EEOC sought reconsideration based on the Supreme Court's opinion in EEOC v. Waffle House, Inc., 534 U.S. 279, 285, 122 S.Ct. 754, 151 L.Ed.2d 755 (2002). The court issued a second order on February 21, 2002, in which it granted in part and denied in part the EEOC's request. Aplt.App. at 26-35. The court granted the request to the extent the prior order was inconsistent with the opinion in Waffle House and denied the motion in all other respects. Id. at 34. The court again concluded that Ms. Willis's claim was time-barred. Based on the derivative nature of the EEOC's claim, the district court held the EEOC was barred based on principles of res judicata from attempting to reassert any individual claims on Ms. Willis's behalf. The court reaffirmed that the EEOC could seek injunctive relief. Id. at 35. The district court stayed the case and certified this matter for immediate appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b), and this court granted the petition for interlocutory appeal. Aplt.App. at 35.

The EEOC asserts the district court erred in several respects: (1) the EEOC claims it is inappropriate to import a state statute of limitation to apply to individual claims by aggrieved employees under the ADA; and (2) the EEOC is not barred under the doctrine of res judicata from seeking individual relief on Ms. Willis's behalf.

Discussion

Defendant's motion to dismiss is more properly characterized as a motion for judgment on the pleadings because the motion was made after the pleadings had been closed. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c). "We review de novo the denial of a motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c), applying the same standard as the district court — accepting all well-pleaded allegations in the complaint as true, and construing them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff." Estes v. Wyoming Dept. of Transp., 302 F.3d 1200, 1203 (10th Cir. 2002). Further, the issue of the proper limitations period under the ADA is primarily a legal question, and therefore we review de novo. See United States v. Telluride Co., 146 F.3d 1241, 1244 (10th Cir. 1998).

I. Procedural Framework of the ADA

Title I of the ADA prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of disability. 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111-17. Title II of the ADA addresses public services and entities discrimination, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-65, while Title III addresses accommodations and services discrimination. 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181-89. Title I is unique from Title II and III in that Title I incorporates the powers, remedies, and procedures of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Id. § 12117.¹ Therefore "Congress has directed the EEOC to exercise the same enforcement powers, remedies, and procedures that are set forth in Title VII ... when it is enforcing the ADA's prohibitions against employment discrimination on the basis of disability." EEOC v. Waffle House, Inc., 534 U.S. 279, 285, 122 S.Ct. 754, 151 L.Ed.2d 755 (2002). The provisions of Title VII that define the EEOC's authority and create the federal scheme of enforcement thus provide the framework for our analysis.

The Supreme Court discussed at length the EEOC's function and the overall enforcement scheme in Occidental Life Insurance Co. v. EEOC, 432 U.S. 355, 358-73, 97 S.Ct. 2447, 53 L.Ed.2d 402 (1977). Although the EEOC originally was involved only in conciliation efforts, with the enactment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, "Congress established an integrated, multi-step enforcement procedure culminating in the EEOC's authority to bring a civil action in a federal court." Id. at 359, 97 S.Ct. 2447. The process is initiated when an aggrieved party first files a charge with the EEOC alleging that an employer engaged in an unlawful employment practice. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(b). The charge must be filed with the EEOC within 180 days of the challenged action. Id. § 2000e-5(e)(1). The statute provides for an extended 300-day filing period "in a case of an unlawful employment practice with respect to which the person aggrieved has initially instituted proceedings with a State or local agency with authority to grant or seek relief." Id.; see Smith v. Oral Roberts Evangelistic Ass'n, Inc., 731 F.2d 684, 687-88 (10th Cir.1984).² The EEOC serves notice on the employer within ten days of the filing. § 2000e-5(b).

Once a charge is filed, the EEOC investigates the charges. Id. The EEOC has "exclusive jurisdiction over the claim for 180 days." Waffle House, Inc., 534 U.S. at 291, 122 S.Ct. 754. If the EEOC determines that "there is not reasonable cause to believe that the charge is true," it dismisses the charge and notifies the person aggrieved. § 2000e-5(b). However, if the EEOC determines there is reasonable cause to believe the charge is true, the EEOC attempts to eliminate the unlawful practice through informal means. Id. If the EEOC is unable to obtain an acceptable conciliation agreement, the EEOC may bring a civil action against the employer. Id. § 2000e-5(f)(1). If the EEOC decides to sue, "the employee has no independent cause of action, although the employee may intervene in the EEOC's suit." Waffle House, 534 U.S. at 291, 122 S.Ct. 754; see § 2000e-5(f)(1). However, if a

charge filed with the Commission ... is dismissed by the Commission, or if within one hundred and eighty days from the filing of such charge ..., the Commission has not filed a civil action under this section ..., or the Commission has not entered into a conciliation agreement to which the person aggrieved is a party, the Commission ... shall so notify the person aggrieved and within ninety days after the giving of such notice a civil action may be brought against the respondent named in the charge.

Id. (emphasis added). The notice by the Commission to the aggrieved individual is commonly known as a "right-to-sue" letter. Waffle House, 534 U.S. at 291, 122 S.Ct. 754.

In Occidental, the Supreme Court held that EEOC enforcement actions are not subject to state statutes of limitation, but rather that the federal enforcement structure itself provides the time limitations for EEOC actions. 432 U.S. at 372, 97 S.Ct. 2447. The Court held it was inappropriate to...