Opinion ID: 483247
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Effects of the Tolling Principles and the Jury's Interrogatory Answers

Text: 128 While the fact that Landi's claim for loss of employment accrued in October 1973 made it appear, within the legal framework adopted by the district court, that Landi's claims were barred by the statute of limitations, that framework was inappropriate, for, as we have concluded in Part III.C.2. above, the court failed to apply pertinent principles as to tolling. Our ruling that the pendency of the state court putative class action tolled the statute for some claims that accrued as early as December 2, 1971, is, to a degree, available to save Landi's claims. 129 Preliminarily, it must be noted that the allegations of the amended complaint may reasonably be read as asserting two claims on behalf of Landi: first, that he failed to receive a merited promotion because of his failure to make a demanded contribution, and second, that his employment was terminated because of his failure to meet a subsequent demand for a contribution. These claims fare slightly differently.
130 The promotion claim is supported by the assertion in Landi's affidavit that he became eligible for a promotion on August 8, 1972, and the affidavit implies, if it does not state outright, that a contribution was demanded in order that the promotion come to fruition. This claim must have accrued between August 8, 1972, the date of eligibility, and October 15, 1973, the date on which Landi knew or should have known that his employment would be terminated. The district court did not discuss this claim, and its failure to do so was of course consistent with its view that no tolling principles were available to save any claim that accrued prior to December 14, 1973. 131 As we have discussed above, claims of plaintiff class members against the County were tolled by the pendency of the state court putative class action in accordance with the American Pipe doctrine, making timely any such claim that accrued on or after December 2, 1971. This ruling is applicable to save Landi's promotion claim against the County. 132 Tolling under this theory is available against any person who was a defendant in the earlier class action, see American Pipe, 414 U.S. at 554-55, 94 S.Ct. at 766-67; but we have held it inapplicable to persons who were not defendants, since commencement of a suit against others is insufficient to give a nondefendant notice of the assertion of claims against him. See Arneil v. Ramsey, 550 F.2d 774, 782 n. 10 (2d Cir.1977). Although we have discovered no New York decision on this aspect of American Pipe tolling, we infer, by analogy to similar circumstances, that the state courts too would decline to hold that such tolling had occurred against any person not made a defendant in the prior class action. Cf. Duffy v. Horton Memorial Hospital, 66 N.Y.2d 473, 477, 497 N.Y.S.2d 890, 893, 488 N.E.2d 820, 822 (1985) (amended complaint that adds new party against whom the statute of limitations has run does not relate back to filing of original complaint). 133 Given this restriction, plaintiffs' state court putative class action did not toll the running of the statute of limitations on claims against the Town or the Town Committee, for neither was named, directly or indirectly, as a defendant in the state court action. We conclude that the running of the statute was tolled, however, on Landi's claims against the County Committee, since the state court action was brought against, inter alios, Margiotta as County Leader Nassau County Republican Committee. Under New York law, an unincorporated association, including a county political committee, can be sued only in the name of its president or treasurer, see N.Y. Gen. Ass'ns Law Sec. 13 (McKinney Supp.1987); 96 Fifth Avenue Realty Corp. v. Greenberg, 180 Misc. 614, 617, 44 N.Y.S.2d 231, 233-34 (Mun.Ct.1943), aff'd, 181 Misc. 142, 47 N.Y.S.2d 222 (Sup.Ct.App.Term 1944), and a suit against a person as president or treasurer treats him as a representative of such association, Martin v. Curran, 303 N.Y. 276, 281, 101 N.E.2d 683 (1951). The County Committee concedes that Margiotta, whose title was Chairman was in effect its president or treasurer, within the meaning of N.Y. Gen. Ass'ns Law Sec. 13, Reply Brief of Defendants County Committee et al., at 3 n. 1, and that the County Committee was in effect a defendant in the New York state court action. Thus, the state court action tolled the running of the statute of limitations with respect to Landi's promotion claim against the County Committee.
134 Application of the American Pipe principle also saves Landi's claim against the County Committee for loss of employment, for that claim accrued after December 2, 1971. While the principle also makes that claim timely as asserted against the County, it is ineffective to save the claim from dismissal. This is because at the trial of the liability issues, the jury found that the County had not participated in the alleged wrongdoing during the period January 1, 1973, to December 31, 1975, and we have affirmed the dismissal of the claims against the County with respect to this period. Since Landi's affidavit makes it clear that the challenged conduct with respect to the termination of his employment occurred in 1973, he is now collaterally estopped from pursuing his termination claim against the County.
135 Finally, although we have discussed in Part III.C.2.b. above the possible applicability of the principle that the statute of limitations is tolled during a defendant's duress where duress is a part of the cause of action, we cannot see that Landi is one of the class members who could avail himself of this principle. As both the complaint and Landi's affidavit make clear, Landi steadfastly refused to make any contribution. He therefore plainly resisted any attempted duress and can hardly claim to have been coerced to forgo bringing suit.