Quitoriano v. Raff & Becker, Llp.

• Decision Date: 29 December 2009
• Docket Number: No. 09 Civ. 5507(DC).,09 Civ. 5507(DC).
• Citation: 675 F.Supp.2d 444
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York
• Parties: Anna QUITORIANO, Plaintiff, v. RAFF & BECKER, LLP., Defendant.

675 F.Supp.2d 444

Anna QUITORIANO, Plaintiff, v. RAFF & BECKER, LLP., Defendant.

No. 09 Civ. 5507(DC).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

December 29, 2009.

Anna Quitoriano, Staten Island, NY, Plaintiff Pro Se.

Barnes, Iaccarino & Shepherd, LLP by Danielle M. Carney, Esq., Hempstead, NY, Attorneys for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM DECISION

CHIN, District Judge.

In 1971, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the "EEOC") sued Local Union 28 of the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association and three other unions in this Court for discriminatory practices against minority workers. See, e.g., EEOC v. Local 638 & Local 28, 86 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) ¶ 41,977, at 3, 2005 WL 823915 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 8, 2005). In 1975, Judge Henry Werker issued an order requiring Local 28 to implement procedures to eliminate discrimination and achieve a certain non-white membership percentage. EEOC v. Local 638 & Local 28, 12 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 733, ¶¶ 1-12 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 28, 1975) (the "1975 Order"). The Court appointed David Raff, an attorney, to act as "Administrator" to implement the 1975 Order.¹ Id. ¶ 13.

In this case, pro se plaintiff Anna Quitoriano, a member of Local 28, sues Raff's law firm, Raff & Becker, LLP (the "Firm") for employment discrimination. Defendant moves pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to dismiss plaintiffs amended complaint (the "Complaint") for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.

The motion is granted because the Firm is not a proper defendant under the civil rights laws in question, and to the extent that plaintiff complains about Special Master Raff's actions, he is judicially immune.

BACKGROUND

A. The Facts

The facts are drawn primarily from the Complaint and exhibits attached thereto. I also take judicial notice of certain facts drawn from the decisions and orders in the earlier litigation. For the purposes of this motion, the facts are construed in the light most favorable to Quitoriano.

1. The Parties

Quitoriano is 44 years old, Caucasian, Roman Catholic, and an American citizen. (Am. Compl. 3). She has been a member of Local 28 since 1986. (Am. Compl., Attach. 2). Since approximately 2003, Quitoriano has relied on a court-ordered job referral system (the "Voluntary Referral Hall") as a means of receiving temporary on-site employment in the sheet metal industry. (See Am. Compl., Attach. 1). The last assignment that she accepted through the Voluntary Referral Hall ended on February 27, 2009. (Id.). Quitoriano is currently unemployed. (Am. Compl., Attach. 2).

The Firm is based in New York, New York, and is a limited liability partnership. (Def.'s Mot. to Dismiss 12 n. 3). The firm consists of two partners and four employees. (Id.).

2. The Voluntary Referral Hall System

The 1975 Order granted Raff a broad range of powers and duties. In particular, it authorized him to "establish procedures and practices for work referral and employment" and conduct investigations of Local 28 and its Apprentice Program. 1975 Order ¶ 14(f), (h). The Court also authorized Raff to:

hear and determine all complaints concerning the operation of this Order and the Program and shall decide any questions of interpretation and claims of violations of this Order and the Program, acting either on his own initiative or at the request of any party herein or any interested person. All decisions of the Administrator shall be in writing and shall be appealable to the Court.

Id. ¶ 15. The Court fixed a rate of compensation for Raff's services and decreed that he would "remain in office for such time as the Court shall determine." Id. ¶ 20. To date, Raff continues to serve as Special Master. (Def.'s Mot. to Dismiss Ex. D).

In 1998, the Court mandated the creation of a voluntary job referral system that would maintain a list of Local 28 journeypersons and refer those with the least hours worked to contractors for work placement. Local 638 & Local 28, 13 F.Supp.2d at 466. The Voluntary Referral Hall was eventually created five years later by a stipulation so ordered by Judge Carter, who had taken over the case from Judge Werker. (See Def.'s Mot. to Dismiss Ex. D). Its purpose was to "function as a racially-neutral means of eliminating the hours disparity between white and nonwhite journeypersons." Local 638 & Local 28, 13 F.Supp.2d at 466-67. The Court assigned Raff the tasks of investigating and reporting the union's progress in implementing the Voluntary Referral Hall and supervising a Referral Hall monitor. See id. at 466-68. The Hall is currently run by an operator who maintains the list of journeypersons seeking work; a business manager; field monitors; Local 28 officials; and an "Office of Court Compliance." (Def.'s Mot. to Dismiss Ex. D, App. A).

Local 28 members who choose to submit their names to the Voluntary Referral Hall are subject to its rules. (Def.'s Mot. to Dismiss Ex. D). The rules construct an elaborate method for ranking journeypersons and referring them to contractors. Put simply, the operator calls members at a certain time each day to match them with contractors in the order that their names appear on the Hall's list. (Id., App. A ¶ 16). If a member refuses a job offered through the Hall, she loses her place on the list and is dropped to the bottom of it. (Id. ¶ 21).

The current version of the Voluntary Referral Hall rules describes Raff's supervisory duties and reaffirms his mandate to hear and determine complaints from Local 28 members regarding the "interpretation, application, administration or implementation of the Hall Rules and Procedures." (Id. ¶ 35).

3. The Firm's Role

Plaintiff alleges that the Firm "oversee[s]" the Voluntary Referral Hall. (Am. Compl. 2). The Firm's sole connection to this case is through Raff, who is one of its named partners. The Firm is not named anywhere in the 1975 Order and does not appear to be named in any subsequent court documents that have been filed pursuant to the aforementioned litigation.

B. Prior Proceedings

1. Internal Union Proceedings

On January 20, 2009, plaintiff met with Local 28 President and Business Manager Michael Belluzzi to discuss her belief that she was being discriminated against under Title VII and the EPA. (Pl.'s Affirm. in Opp'n, Attach. at 8-9). She states that Belluzzi "was impressed but had to adhere to Southern District Federal Court Rules." (Id. at 9). It does not appear that plaintiff pursued a remedy through the procedures used by Local 28 to address its members' complaints. These procedures include the system created by the Voluntary Referral Hall rules, which requires members to air their grievances by bringing them to Special Master Raff. (See Def.'s Mot. to Dismiss Ex. D, App. A ¶ 35).

2. Administrative Proceedings

Plaintiff filed charges with the EEOC on April 21, 2009. (Am. Compl. 4). The EEOC dismissed her charges and issued a right to sue letter on June 29, 2009. (Am. Compl., Attach.).

3. Federal and State Litigation

Plaintiff filed a Notice of Claim against defendant in the Civil Court of the City of New York, Small Claims Part, in Staten Island on March 11, 2009. (Def.'s Mot. to Dismiss Ex. A). The Notice of Claim stated that plaintiff sought damages for "breach of agreement" and violations of "EEOC law." (Id.). Defendant removed this action to federal court in the Eastern District of New York on March 23, 2009, and filed an answer to plaintiff's complaint on March 26, 2009. Defendant then filed a motion to change venue to the Southern District of New York. The motion was granted.

This Court accepted plaintiffs amended complaint on July 27, 2009. Quitoriano contends that the Firm discriminated against her based on her race, gender, national origin, age, color, and religion. She alleges that the Firm failed to hire her, terminated her employment, failed to promote her, created unequal terms and conditions of her employment, retaliated against her, and engaged in "blacklisting." She asserts:

Judge Carter appointed Raff & Becker to oversee a Referral Hall Hiring System for L.U. # 28 members. The referral has been corrupt in past and present. Not run properly.

(Am. Compl. 2). She brings this action pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. ("Title VII"); the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. § 621-634 et seq. (the "ADEA"); and the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d) (the "EPA").

In essence, plaintiff's claim is one of reverse discrimination: she has been the victim of discrimination at the hands of a court-ordered system meant to remedy past discrimination. Quitoriano alleges that beginning in 2001, she began to lose hours to "less educated, unskilled, unemployable, non-English speaking, [males]...." (Am. Compl., Attach. at 3). Quitoriano attributes her lack of job opportunities to Raff's allegedly improper supervision of the Voluntary Referral Hall, but none of the few incidents² that plaintiff describes as indicative of discrimination involve Raff or the Firm. (See Am. Compl., Attach., Saunders Letter).

This motion followed.

DISCUSSION

The Firm moves to dismiss the amended complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on the grounds that (1) as a court-appointed Special Master, Raff had judicial immunity; (2) in the alternative, because no employment relationship existed between itself and plaintiff as a matter of law, the Firm cannot be held liable for plaintiffs employment discrimination claims; (3) even if defendant qualifies as plaintiffs employer under Title VII, the ADEA, and the EPA, plaintiff fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; and (4) plaintiff did not follow the court-ordered protocol for addressing union member grievances with the Voluntary Referral Hall. Because the first two arguments are dispositive, I do not address the remaining arguments.

A. Standard on a Motion to Dismiss

A proper pleading must contain a "short...