Martin v. Middendorf

Decision Date16 September 1976
Docket NumberC. A. No. 76-559.
Citation420 F. Supp. 779
PartiesArthur L. MARTIN, Plaintiff, v. J. William MIDDENDORF, Defendant.
CourtU.S. District Court — District of Columbia

Arthur L. Martin, pro se.

Michael J. Ryan, Asst. U.S. Atty., Washington, D.C., for defendant.

ORDER

CHARLES R. RICHEY, District Judge.

This case is before the Court on plaintiff's motion for class certification. Plaintiff initiated this lawsuit to complain on his own behalf and on behalf of all other past, present, and future black engineers, applicants for engineering positions, and other professional and semi-professional blacks, women and minority persons who were employed, are employed, or will seek employment with the Headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command in the Department of the Navy. The gravamen of plaintiff's complaint is that the supervisory and managerial staff at the Command has engaged in acts and practices which have operated systematically to deprive him, as an individual and as a member of the above-mentioned class, of equal employment opportunities with respect to training, hiring, promotion, assignments, and other personnel actions and decisions. Plaintiff's suit is brought pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., as amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16, and plaintiff seeks, inter alia, declaratory and injunctive relief and back pay.

The Court notes that plaintiff, a non-lawyer, is proceeding pro se, his counsel having withdrawn earlier in this case. The fact that plaintiff, as a layman, seeks to represent a class of employees raises grave problems with respect to the requirement of Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(4) that "the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class." There are very few cases dealing with the question of representation of a class by a pro se plaintiff who is not an attorney. This is undoubtedly because the overriding presumption in class actions is that the named representatives and the class will be represented by legal counsel. Thus, Judge Rosenn of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has written:

Adequate representation depends on two factors: (a) the plaintiff's attorney must be qualified, experienced, and generally able to conduct the proposed litigation, and (b) the plaintiff must not have interests antagonistic to those of the class. Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 391 F.2d 555, 562 (2d Cir. 1968).

Wetzel v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., 508 F.2d 239, 247, cert. denied, 421 U.S. 1011, 95 S.Ct. 2415, 44 L.Ed.2d 679 (1975) (emphasis added).

In the recent case of Oxendine v. Williams, 509 F.2d 1405 (1975), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals had occasion to deal with this question. Plaintiff Oxendine, an inmate at a state penitentiary, challenged conditions at the institution on his own behalf and on behalf of all other inmates there incarcerated. The district court allowed the case to proceed as a class action and entered judgment for the defendant. Neither party raised the issue of the propriety of class action on appeal, but the court of appeals nonetheless found it "plain error" for the district court to have treated the case as a class action:

Ability to protect the interests of the class depends in part on the quality of counsel . . .. and we consider the competence of a layman representing himself to be clearly too limited to allow him to risk the rights of others. Cf. Anderson v. Moorer, 372 F.2d 747, 751 n. 5 (5th Cir. 1967).

509 F.2d at 1407. See Fore v. Godwin, 407 F.Supp. 1145, 1147 (E.D.Va.1976).

The Court recognizes, of course, that each pro se plaintiff presents a different case and possesses a different level of proficiency. To be sure, plaintiff in the instant case has demonstrated in his memorandum in support of class certification a familiarity with...

To continue reading

Request your trial
99 cases
  • Givens v. Cal. Dep't of Corr. & Rehab.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California
    • 1 Abril 2019
    ...protect the interests of the class," as required by Rule 23(a)(4) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Martin v. Middendorf, 420 F. Supp. 779 (D. D.C. 1976). This action, therefore, will not be construed as a class action and instead will be construed as an individual civil suit bro......
  • Rodriguez v. Moore
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California
    • 28 Junio 2018
    ...protect the interests of the class," as required by Rule 23(a)(4) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Martin v. Middendorf, 420 F. Supp. 779 (D. D.C. 1976). This action, therefore, will not be construed as a class action and instead will be construed as an individual civil suit bro......
  • Robinson v. Prisil
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California
    • 22 Septiembre 2014
    ...protect the interests of the class," as required by Rule 23(a)(4) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Martin v. Middendorf, 420 F. Supp. 779 (D.D.C. 1976). "[C]ourts have routinely adhered to the general rule prohibiting pro se plaintiffs from pursuing claims on behalf of others. P......
  • Jones v. Sherman
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California
    • 20 Junio 2017
    ...protect the interests of the class," as required by Rule 23(a)(4) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Martin v. Middendorf, 420 F. Supp. 779 (D.D.C. 1976). This action, therefore, is not construed as a class or representative action, and instead is construed as an individual civil ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT