Source: https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/498-u-s-89-605151134
Timestamp: 2020-03-30 18:19:56
Document Index: 253130326

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2000', '§ 2000', '§ 2000', '§ 2000', '§ 621', '§ 791', '§ 2000', '§ 2000', '§ 2000']

498 U.S. 89 (1990), 89-5867, Irwin v. Veterans Administration - Federal Cases - Case Law - VLEX 605151134
498 U.S. 89 (1990), 89-5867, Irwin v. Veterans Administration
Docket Nº: No. 89-5867
Citation: 498 U.S. 89, 111 S.Ct. 453, 112 L.Ed.2d 435, 59 U.S.L.W. 4021
Party Name: Irwin v. Veterans Administration
Case Date: December 03, 1990
498 U.S. 89 (1990)
111 S.Ct. 453, 112 L.Ed.2d 435, 59 U.S.L.W. 4021
No. 89-5867
Argued Oct. 1, 1990
Petitioner Irwin filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), claiming that he had been unlawfully fired by respondent Veterans Administration on the basis of his race and disability. The EEOC dismissed the complaint on March 19, 1987, mailing copies of a right-to-sue letter to both Irwin and his attorney. Irwin received the letter on April 7. His attorney received actual notice of the letter on April 10, having been out of the country when it was delivered to his office on March 23. Forty-four days after his attorney's office received the letter and twenty-nine days after Irwin received his copy, he filed an action in the District Court, alleging, inter alia, a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction on the ground that the complaint was not filed within the time specified by 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16(c), which provides that a complaint against the Federal Government must be filed within 30 days "of receipt of notice of final action taken" by the EEOC. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that a notice of final action is "received" when the EEOC delivers its notice to a claimant or his attorney's offices, whichever comes first, and that the 30-day span operates as an absolute jurisdictional limit.
1. Irwin's complaint was untimely. Section 2000e-16(c) requires that the EEOC's letter be "received," but does not specify that receipt must be by the claimant, rather than by his representative. Congress may depart from the common and established practice of providing notification through counsel only if it does so expressly. Irwin's argument that there is a material difference between receipt by an attorney and receipt by his office for purposes of § 2000e-16(c) is rejected. Lower courts have consistently held that notice to an attorney's office which is acknowledged by a representative of that office qualifies as notice to the client, and the practical effect of a contrary rule would be to create uncertainty by encouraging factual disputes about when actual notice was received. Pp. 92-93.
2. Statutes of limitations in actions against the Government are subject to the same rebuttable presumption of equitable tolling applicable to suits
against private defendants. Applying the same rule amounts to little, if any, broadening of a congressional waiver of sovereign immunity. Pp. 93-96.
3. Irwin's failure to file may not be excused under equitable tolling principles. Federal courts have typically extended equitable relief only sparingly in suits against private litigants, allowing tolling where the claimant has actively pursued his judicial remedies by filing a defective pleading or where he has been induced or tricked by his adversary's misconduct into allowing the filing deadline to pass. Such equitable tolling principles do not extend to Irwin's claim that his untimely filing should be excused because his attorney was out of the office when the notice was received and he filed within 30 [111 S.Ct. 455] days of the date he personally received notice, which is at best a garden variety claim of excusable neglect. P. 96
REHNQUIST, C.J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BLACKMUN, O'CONNOR, SCALIA, and KENNEDY, JJ., joined. WHITE, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which MARSHALL, J., joined, post, p. 97. STEVENS, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, post, p. 101. SOUTER, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
In April 1986, petitioner, Shirley Irwin, was fired from his job by respondent Veteran's Administration (VA). Irwin contacted an equal employment opportunity
counselor and filed a complaint with the EEOC, alleging that the VA had unlawfully discharged him on the basis of his race and physical disability. The EEOC dismissed Irwin's complaint by a letter dated March 19, 1987. The letter, which was sent to both Irwin and his attorney, expressly informed them that Irwin had the right to file a civil action under Title VII, 78 Stat. 253, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., within 30 days of receipt of the EEOC notice. According to Irwin, he did not receive the EEOC's letter until April 7, 1987, and the letter to his attorney arrived at the attorney's office on March 23, 1987, while the attorney was out of the country. The attorney did not learn of the EEOC's action until his return on April 10, 1987.
Irwin filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas on May 6, 1987, 44 days after the EEOC notice was received at his attorney's office, but 29 days after the date on which he claimed he received the letter. The complaint alleged that the VA discriminated against him because of his race, age, and handicap, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., 81 Stat. 602, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq., 87 Stat. 390, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 791 et seq., and the First and Fifth Amendments. Respondent VA moved to dismiss, asserting, inter alia, that the District Court lacked jurisdiction because the complaint was not filed within 30 days of the EEOC's decision, as specified in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16(c). The District Court granted the motion.
The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed. 874 F.2d 1092 (1989). The court held that the 30-day period begins to run on the date that the EEOC right-to-sue letter is delivered to the offices of formally designated counsel or to the claimant, even if counsel himself did not actually receive notice until later. Id. at 1094. The Court of Appeals further determined that the 30-day span allotted under § 2000e-16(c)
operates as an absolute jurisdictional limit. Id. at 1095. Accordingly, it reasoned that the District Court could not excuse Irwin's late filing, because federal courts lacked jurisdiction over his untimely claim. Ibid. That holding is in direct conflict with the decisions of four other Courts of Appeals.[1]
We granted certiorari to determine when the 30-day period under § 2000e-16(c) begins to run and to resolve the Circuit conflict over whether late-filed claims are jurisdictionally barred.
Section 2000e-16(c) provides that an employment discrimination complaint against the Federal Government under Title VII must be filed "[w]ithin thirty days of receipt of notice of final action taken" by the EEOC. The Court of Appeals determined that a notice [111 S.Ct. 456] of final action is "received" when the EEOC delivers its notice to a claimant or the claimant's attorney, whichever comes first. Id. at 1094. Petitioner argues that the clock does not begin until the claimant himself has notice of his right to sue.
We conclude that Irwin's complaint filed in the District Court was untimely. As the Court of...