Opinion ID: 492411
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Frivolousness Under Christiansburg

Text: 47 The individual school board members point out that, as to them, there was no probable cause finding. Less weight may be given to Rathbun's reliance on an administrative finding of probable cause since she included in her action claims against defendants not considered by the OCRC. See Badillo, 717 F.2d at 1164. 48 The Supreme Court in Christiansburg illuminated the standard it announced with the following pertinent language: 49 In applying these criteria, it is important that a district court resist the understandable temptation to engage in post hoc reasoning by concluding that, because a plaintiff did not ultimately prevail, his action must have been unreasonable or without foundation. This kind of hindsight logic could discourage all but the most airtight claims, for seldom can a prospective plaintiff be sure of ultimate success. No matter how honest one's belief that he has been the victim of discrimination, no matter how meritorious one's claim may appear at the outset, the course of litigation is rarely predictable. Decisive facts may not emerge until discovery or trial. The law may change or clarify in the midst of litigation. Even when the law or the facts appear questionable or unfavorable at the outset, a party may have an entirely reasonable ground for bringing suit. 50 434 U.S. at 421-22, 98 S.Ct. at 700. 51 As discussed above, here there is no evidence that Rathbun was aware that the individual school board members--again, assuming she sued them in their individual capacity, an assumption on which the district judge proceeded--could not be held legally responsible for conduct of her fellow employees. She had some foundation for believing that she had been discriminated against either on the basis of her sex or French origin. Combined with the advice of her original attorneys that she had a claim against the individual school board members and the subsequent encouragement by an attorney and law professor to pursue these claims further, Rathbun certainly had a sufficient basis for continuing her claims against the individual defendants. See Badillo, supra, 717 F.2d at 1165; see also Smith, supra, 754 F.2d at 185 (abuse of discretion to impose sanction under section 1988 in race discrimination case where couple had some reason to believe they had been discriminated against in housing). The adding of some meritless claims does not make the whole case frivolous. See Haynie, supra, 799 F.2d at 242; Tarter, supra, 742 F.2d at 987-88; Badillo, 717 F.2d at 1164. Under the circumstances, a sanction against Rathbun under the Christiansburg standard was improper.