Yates v. HAGERSTOWN LODGE NO. 212 ORDER OF MOOSE
| Decision Date | 09 January 1995 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. N-94-2308. |
| Citation | 878 F. Supp. 788 |
| Parties | James YATES, Plaintiff, v. HAGERSTOWN LODGE NO. 212 LOYAL ORDER OF MOOSE; Moose International; and Maurice Jenkins, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
William Alden McDaniel, Jr., Baltimore, MD, for plaintiff.
Stephen M. Silvestri, Margaret A. Jacobsen, Miles & Stockbridge, Jeffrey P. Ayres, Valerie Floyd Portner, Venable, Baetjer & Howard, Richard C. Burch, Mudd, Harrison & Burch, and Andrew Janquitto, Baltimore, MD, for defendants.
Pending before this Court for resolution are motions by Defendants Mr. David Jenkins, Hagerstown Lodge No. 212 ("the Lodge"), and Moose International, Inc. ("Moose International"), to dismiss Plaintiff Mr. James Yates' six-count Complaint. The Complaint alleges violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1982, and 1985(3), and seeks compensatory and injunctive relief. Yates has opposed Defendants' motions and Defendants have submitted replies thereto. Upon consideration of the pleadings and papers, this Court finds no hearing to be necessary at this time. Local Rule 105.6 (D.Md.1992, as amended 1994). For the reasons stated herein, the motions to dismiss will be denied in part and granted in part.
The following facts have been extracted from Plaintiff's 232-paragraph Complaint. They detail the relevant chronology of events surrounding Yates' involvement with the Defendants and will serve as the basis for this opinion. A careful summary, therefore, is necessary.
Lodge 212 is a Maryland corporation located in Hagerstown, Maryland. It owns a large social and dining establishment used to conduct meetings and hold social and business functions. According to the Complaint, the Lodge runs its affairs in close cooperation with Moose International, a foreign corporation which charters and monitors the activities of various Moose lodges, including the Lodge.
Yates alleges that, in the instant case, Moose International exerted control over the Lodge's activities. He states that the Lodge operated pursuant to a charter granted to it by Moose International, and that it determined its membership and non-members policies subject to the direction of Moose International. Moose International appointed the trustees, administrator, and governor responsible for operations at the Lodge. These officials enforced all policies of the Lodge.
Moose International appointed Jenkins, a white male, as governor of the Lodge.1 Moose International also appointed Mr. David Krueger, a white male, as the administrator of the Lodge. The board of trustees who served during the times relevant to the allegations of the Complaint also consisted entirely of white males.
The Complaint avers that in return for payment of dues and the observance of certain rules, a member obtained: the use of bars, dining areas, and recreational facilities; participation in educational, charitable, social, and community activities; and eligibility for death benefits and for residence in retirement communities operated by Moose International.2
By joining the Lodge, one also became a member of Moose International and, as a result, was entitled to certain privileges and benefits available at other Moose lodges around the world. A percentage of the dues each member paid to the Lodge was in turn paid to Moose International.
The Lodge's rules forbade non-members from using the facilities except by a guest who was considering membership and who wished temporarily to view and use the facilities. A host member was required to accompany the guest at all times, and the guest was required to wear a guest badge. There was no requirement, however, that the guest fill out a membership application or pay an application fee prior to touring and using the facilities.
According to the Complaint, the Lodge had a practice of admitting non-members into the facilities without guest badges, allowing them to use the facilities, including members-only areas, and of allowing them to attend all functions at the Lodge, including members-only functions. Additionally, the Complaint avers that the Lodge had a policy of not permitting blacks to become members or to use the facilities, a policy of which Moose International was aware.3
In 1993 Yates, a black male, became interested in joining the Lodge through his friend, Mr. Donald Edwards. Edwards at that time had been a member of the Lodge for approximately fifteen years. Edwards also worked part-time as a doorman at the Lodge and during his years as a member and employee had never experienced any problems at the Lodge.
Yates states that he wished to join the organization because the Lodge engaged in numerous charitable and social activities in Hagerstown. Lodge and Moose International membership criteria were: (1) that the person seeking membership be an adult male (2) without a criminal record and (3) loyal to the United States. Yates avers that he met these requirements.
The Complaint asserts that on December 24, 1993, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Edwards and Yates arrived at the Lodge, whereupon Edwards presented his membership card to the doorman, signed his name to the register book, and wrote down the lodge number, Yates' name, and the notation "guest" next to Yates' name. He filled out a guest badge for Yates and affixed it to Yates' jacket.
The pair then walked into the social quarters of the facilities where they ordered a drink. While Edwards and Yates made their way to the pool room in the rear of the facilities, Jenkins approached them and asked Yates for his membership card. Yates responded that he was a guest of Edwards and showed Jenkins his guest badge.
Jenkins' alleged response was that Yates had "to go." While speaking to Yates, Jenkins pointed and shook his finger and Yates noticed that Jenkins' demeanor had drawn attention to him. Yates states that Jenkins' voice was so loud that persons on the other side of the social quarters turned to watch Jenkins' confrontation with him.
The Complaint recounts that Edwards then asked Jenkins why Yates had to leave, to which Jenkins replied that the Lodge did not allow any guests inside the facilities and that only prospective members could come into the facilities. After being told that Yates was a prospective member, however, Jenkins asked Edwards if Yates had filled out a membership application and had paid his enrollment fee. Jenkins told Edwards that Yates had to leave, and that the only way Yates and Edwards could stay was if Yates paid his enrollment fee. Jenkins then walked off.4
Yates and Edwards then approached Krueger and informed him of what had just occurred. Krueger advised them that Yates could look around the facilities without first filling out an application or paying an enrollment fee. Nevertheless, Edwards completed a membership application for Yates and paid the required fee.5
According to the Complaint, Yates and Edwards then went to see the ballroom where a members-only function had ended or was just ending. Upon entering, Jenkins yelled out to Yates that he was to leave immediately. Edwards replied that he was showing Yates the room and pointed out that the members-only function had ended and that few people remained in the ballroom. Jenkins would not yield.
Yates, Edwards, and Jenkins brought their dispute to Krueger's office where Jenkins again loudly demanded that Edwards and Yates leave. He allegedly told Krueger that "this shit's got to stop," accused Edwards of failing to follow the rules regarding guests, and denied that a member could bring a guest for a tour of the facilities.
In response, Edwards noted that the rules allowed a member to show the premises and that he had seen many guests in the facilities during his fifteen years as a member. He told Jenkins that he had seen members, including Jenkins, gain admittance to the facilities without displaying their membership cards, a fact he was particularly familiar with due to his occasional employment as a doorman. Jenkins again denied these assertions and stated that he would "have" Edwards' membership in the Lodge "for this." Edwards and Yates then left the facilities.
The Complaint states that at no time when Edwards and Yates were in the facilities on December 24, 1993, did either of them see any other black individuals. They claim to have seen, however, at least three white non-members, none of whom had filled out a membership application, paid an enrollment fee, or complied with any other requirements before entering the premises.6
During his tenure as a doorman, Edwards had also seen many non-members enter the facilities on other occasions, a majority of whom had not filled out an application paid the enrollment fee, or complied with any other ostensible requirements. Likewise, none of the white non-members who toured or used the facilities without paying an enrollment fee or filling out an application had ever been subjected to abuse or harassment of any kind.
Yates alleges that on December 31, 1993, Edwards told Krueger that he wanted to file a formal complaint regarding Jenkins' behavior on December 24, 1993. Krueger stated that he would take care of the matter and asked to meet with Edwards at Edwards' home on January 10, 1994, for further discussion.7
On January 6, 1994, Edwards received a letter dated December 31, 1993, from the Lodge informing him that he was temporarily suspended from the social quarters of the Lodge. After receiving the letter, Edwards telephoned Krueger and was informed that he had been suspended due to his argument with Jenkins. Because the board wanted to fire Edwards from his position as doorman, Krueger advised him to attend the board meeting set for January 12, 1994, where he could request reinstatement to the social quarters.
On January 12, 1994, Edwards attended the meeting and presented a formal written complaint against Jenkins...
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