Woods v. Bentsen

• Decision Date: 14 June 1995
• Docket Number: No. 94-4202.,94-4202.
• Parties: Tammy WOODS, Plaintiff, v. Lloyd BENTSEN, Secretary, Dept. of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

889 F. Supp. 179

Tammy WOODS, Plaintiff, v. Lloyd BENTSEN, Secretary, Dept. of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Defendant.

No. 94-4202.

United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.

June 14, 1995.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Tammy Woods, pro se.

David R. Hoffman, U.S. Attys. Office, James G. Sheehan, Asst. U.S. Atty. Civ. Div., Philadelphia, PA, for defendant.

MEMORANDUM

LOWELL A. REED, Jr., District Judge.

Plaintiff Tammy Woods brought this action against defendant Lloyd Bentsen, the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury, claiming that she was treated unlawfully while employed by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") as a Tax Examiner in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-1 to -17 ("Title VII").

Currently before the Court is the motion by defendant for summary judgment. (Document No. 12) For the following reasons, the motion will be granted.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiff, appearing pro se, filed a motion to proceed in forma pauperis on July 11, 1994. The Court subsequently denied the plaintiff's motion by an Order dated July 18, 1994, having found that plaintiff failed to show an inability to afford the costs of this proceeding. The Order further stated that if plaintiff failed to pay the filing fee by August 15, 1994 her civil action would be dismissed without prejudice, but that upon timely payment of the fee, the complaint would be filed and summons issued. Plaintiff then paid the requisite filing fees on August 8, 1994, and the complaint was filed with the Court on that date.¹

Concurrent with the filing of the complaint, plaintiff also requested the Court appoint an attorney on her behalf. The Court appointed three competent counsel, each of whom subsequently declined representation. Consequently, the request was denied without prejudice on December 13, 1994.²

Defendant eventually responded to plaintiff's complaint by filing the instant motion for summary judgment. In this motion, defendant avers that plaintiff: 1) failed to file her civil action within the applicable time period provided by 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16(c); and 2) failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff has been employed as a Tax Examiner (GS-7) in the Adjustment Correspondence branch of the IRS in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since February of 1985. On November 4, 1991 she filed an Equal Employment Opportunity ("EEO") complaint with the Department of the Treasury ("agency complaint"). In plaintiff's agency complaint she alleged that several of her supervisors harassed and discriminated against her based on her marriage to an African-American. The agency determined on August 10, 1993 that no racial discrimination occurred.

In April of 1994 plaintiff appealed the decision of the agency to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). The EEOC investigated plaintiff's claim, visiting the IRS Philadelphia Service Center several times, and compiled numerous documents related to plaintiff's claim.³ On April 20, 1994, the EEOC affirmed the agency's decision that plaintiff suffered no racial discrimination within the purview of Title VII.

Plaintiff received word of the final EEOC decision via letter on April 29, 1994, including notification of her right to file a civil action under Title VII. Seventy-two days later, on July 11, 1994, this action ensued.

III. DISCUSSION

A. Appointment of Counsel

Following the suggestion of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, this Court will explain its reasons for ultimately denying appointment of counsel. Tabron v. Grace, 6 F.3d 147, 158 (3d Cir.1993), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 114 S.Ct. 1306, 127 L.Ed.2d 657 (1994).⁴ The Court appointed three competent attorneys to represent plaintiff, however, each declined to represent plaintiff upon reviewing the case. Faced with the refusal of all three counsel to represent plaintiff, the Court determined that reasonable efforts to secure counsel had been expended. As the Court of Appeals stated in Tabron, "we must take note of the significant practical restraints on the district courts' ability to appoint counsel including ... the limited supply of lawyers who are willing to undertake such representation without compensation. We have no doubt that there are many cases in which district courts seek to appoint counsel but there is simply none willing to accept appointment." 6 F.3d at 157 (footnotes omitted). Regrettably, the case at bar is one of those "many cases."

B. Summary Judgment Standard⁵

Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c), summary judgment may be granted when, "after considering the record evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Turner v. Schering-Plough Corp., 901 F.2d 335, 340 (3d Cir.1990). Moreover, for a dispute to be "genuine," the evidence must be such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

Typically, a plaintiff is not entitled to rest on her pleadings when faced with a motion for summary judgment, and must come forward with her own material to demonstrate the existence of a dispute. Hovsons, Inc. v. Secretary of Interior, 519 F.Supp. 434, 439 (D.N.J.1981), aff'd, 711 F.2d 1208 (3d Cir. 1983). A party resisting a motion for summary judgment must specifically identify evidence of record which supports her claim and upon which a verdict in her favor may be based. Roa v. City of Bethlehem, 782 F.Supp. 1008, 1014 (E.D.Pa.1991). However, a pro se litigant's complaint must be construed liberally, and by extension, all reasonable latitude must be afforded in the summary judgment context. See Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520, 92 S.Ct. 594, 595, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972).

Plaintiff neglected to file a response to the instant motion within the time period prescribed by Local Rule 20(c).⁶ In light of plaintiff's pro se status, the Court granted her an additional 30 days to respond to the motion, and notified her that failure to do so would result in this Court considering the motion uncontested.⁷ Once again, plaintiff failed to respond to defendant's motion.⁸ Nevertheless, this Court has undertaken a searching examination of the record, including the entire EEOC investigative file submitted by plaintiff, to determine whether summary judgment is appropriate at this time.⁹

C. Failure to File Within the Statutory Time Period

Subsection 5(f)(1) of Title VII, applicable to non-federal employees, requires that a civil action be brought within ninety days of a plaintiff receiving notification of the EEOC's final decision and a "right to sue letter." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(1); Mosel v. Hills Department Store, Inc., 789 F.2d 251, 252-53 (3d Cir.1986). Similarly, subsection 16(c) of Title VII, applicable to federal employees, requires that an aggrieved party file a civil action within ninety days of receiving notification that the EEOC rendered its final decision. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16(c), (d);¹⁰ Hornsby v. U.S. Postal Service, 787 F.2d 87, 89-90 (3d Cir.1986); Allen v. United States, 542 F.2d 176, 178-179 (3d Cir.1976). This ninety day filing period is in the nature of a statute of limitations, not a jurisdictional prerequisite, and is therefore subject to equitable tolling. Irwin v. Dept. of Veteran's Affairs, 498 U.S. 89, 94-95, 111 S.Ct. 453, 456-57, 112 L.Ed.2d 435 (1990); Hornsby, 787 F.2d at 89 (citing Zipes v. Trans World Airlines, 455 U.S. 385, 392-98, 102 S.Ct. 1127, 1131-35, 71 L.Ed.2d 234 (1982)); Richardson v. Diagnostic Rehabilitation Ctr., 836 F.Supp. 252, 254 (E.D.Pa.1993). Defendant argues that because the motion to proceed in forma pauperis resulted in the filing of the complaint more than ninety days after plaintiff received notice of the final EEOC decision, the Title VII claims of plaintiff are time barred. This Court disagrees.

In Richardson, the court faced a situation similar to the one in this case. The pro se plaintiff, employed by Diagnostic Rehabilitation Center ("DRC"), filed an appeal with the EEOC alleging racial discrimination in violation of Title VII. Richardson, 836 F.Supp. at 253. After receiving notice of the final EEOC decision, the plaintiff submitted his complaint, accompanied by a motion to proceed in forma pauperis, to the Clerk of the Court within the ninety day filing period. Id. at 253-54. The court denied the motion, but allowed the plaintiff additional time to pay the filing fee. Id. The plaintiff paid the filing fee within the time period allowed by the court, but resulted in the "filing" of the civil action outside the ninety day statutory period. Id.

DRC argued that because the plaintiff failed to "file" within the ninety day period, the action in Richardson was time-barred. Id. at 253. The court reasoned, however, that the submission of the complaint within the ninety period, pending the outcome of the motion to proceed in forma pauperis, tolled the statute of limitations. Id. at 254. "A contrary holding would have the unjust effect of making the timeliness of any complaint submitted with a motion to proceed in forma pauperis depend upon the speed with which the court addresses the plaintiff's allegations of indigency." Id. at 254-55. Moreover, because the court led the plaintiff to believe that the statutory prerequisites for suit would be satisfied by compliance with its order, the court further tolled the statute of limitations until the end of the time period allowed by the order to pay the filing fees. Id. at 255 (citing Ford v. Temple Hospital, 790 F.2d 342, 350 (3d Cir.1986)). This Court finds the reasoning of Richardson persuasive in the instant case as well.

Plaintiff herein received notice of the final EEOC decision on April 29, 1994. Seventy-two days later, on July 11, 1994, pla...