Major Tours Inc. v. Colorel
| Decision Date | 22 June 2010 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 05-3091 (JBS/JS). |
| Citation | 720 F.Supp.2d 587 |
| Parties | MAJOR TOURS, INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. Michael COLOREL, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
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Terry Davon Johnson, Esq., Blank Rome LLP, Princeton, NJ, Thomas Kane, Esq., Lawrenceville, NJ, Ezra D. Rosenberg, Esq., William Gibson, Esq., Dechert LLP, Lawrenceville, NJ, Yvette Claudia Sterling, Esq., Barbara E. Ransom, Esq., Sterling Law Firm, L.L.C., Burlington City, NJ, Michael Churchill, Esq., Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, for Plaintiffs.
Nonee Lee Wagner, Deputy Attorney General, Wayne J. Martorelli, Deputy Attorney General, Office of the NJ Attorney General, Trenton, NJ, Holly Rebecca Rogers, Esq., Dilworth Paxson LLP, Philadelphia, PA, John J. Higson, Esq., Dilworth Paxson, LLP, Philadelphia, PA, for Defendants Michael Colorel, New Jersey Department of Transportation, Sharon Harrington, Diane Legriede, Vincent Shulze, New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, Kris Kolluri, and John F. Lettiere.
William J. Pollinger, Esq., William J. Pollinger, P.A., Hackensack, NJ, for Defendants Jimmy's Lake Side Garage and James Restuccio.
I. INTRODUCTION
This civil rights case involves allegations of racial discrimination in New Jersey's system of commercial bus safety inspections. Plaintiffs bring this action against two groups of defendants, the state agencies and officials who operate the inspection system (“State Defendants”) and a repair shop and its owner who Plaintiffs allege are involved in the discrimination (“Garage Defendants”). The matter is before the Court on the State Defendants' motion to dismiss under Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), Fed.R.Civ.P. [Docket Item 260] and Plaintiffs' crossmotion to file a Fourth Amended Complaint under Rule 15, Fed.R.Civ.P. [Docket Item 287]. 1 Both sets of Defendants oppose the motion to amend. Plaintiffs also appeal a decision of Magistrate Judge Schneider regarding preservation of government emails and discovery of email backup tapes [Docket Item 284].
For the reasons explained below in today's Opinion, the Court will grant the State Defendants' motion to dismiss except as to certain claims against Defendants Shulze and Colorel. 2 The Court will deny the motion to amend except insofar as it clarifies the current complaint with respect to the remaining claims because the additional claims and allegations are unduly delayed and prejudicial. Magistrate Judge Schneider's discovery ruling will be affirmed.
II. BACKGROUND
New Jersey's Bus Safety Compliance Act (“BSCA”) creates a system of inspections to promote vehicle safety. N.J. Stat. Ann. § 48:4-2.1. Federal law makes states eligible to receive federal grants if they adopt and enforce certain safety regulations. 49 C.F.R. §§ 350.107, 350.201(a). Regulations promulgated pursuant to the BSCA expressly adopt and incorporate by reference certain federal rules pertaining to safety of vehicle equipment in order to receive grants under the federal program. N.J. Admin Code § 16:53-1.1 (adopting 49 C.F.R. § 393). The BSCA regulations, modeled on these federal rules, provide that authorized officers can direct any bus operated in New Jersey to immediately drive to a designated facility for inspection. N.J. Admin Code § 16:53A-6.1. Buses discovered to have a mechanical condition that would likely cause an accident or a breakdown, a so-called “out-of-service violation,” may be required to unload passengers and be prevented from operating until the conditions have been repaired on-site or until towed and fixed at a repair facility. N.J. Stat. Ann. § 48:4-2.1(h). Additionally, the bus company is subject to civil penalties for each violation. N.J. Stat. Ann. § 48:4-2.1(f).
Plaintiffs are six African American owned and operated bus companies and their individual owners. 3 They offer bus tours between Pennsylvania and casinos that market to African Americans in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Both the passengers and drivers of the buses are largely African American. Beginning in 2000, according to Plaintiffs, they allegedly began to experience a pattern of racial discrimination in the bus inspection program that is ongoing.
Specifically, Plaintiffs allege that bus inspectors gather near casinos that have primarily African American clientele, targeting casino buses, instead of randomly selecting buses for inspection. They claim that this initially discriminatory targeting leads to further increased scrutiny, because buses may be stopped based on data collected during prior inspections and kept in a database, leading to further stops and inspections.
Plaintiffs allege that when they are stopped, they are often subjected to the highest level of inspection, unlike white-owned bus operators with inferior safety and compliance records. They allege that even the highest level of inspection should only take about an hour, but that inspections of Plaintiffs' buses typically take three to four hours.
Plaintiffs allege that the inspectors fabricate violations of the BSCA, finding out-of-service violations even on new or nearly-new buses. When a violation is found or invented, Defendants discriminate against them by exercising their discretion to require towing to a repair shop instead of allowing on-site repair. The inspectors require the buses to be towed to Jimmy's Lake Side Repair Shop, owned by Defendant James Restuccio, who charges them above the prevailing market rates, subjects them to verbal abuse, and “typically cannot perform the allegedly necessary repairs,” requiring Plaintiffs to tow the buses elsewhere for repairs. (Compl. ¶ 35.) The inspectors allow white-owned bus operators to...
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