Opinion ID: 483247
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: the dismissal of the claims of landi

Text: 116 The amended complaint alleged that Landi had been Assistant Superintendent of the County's Highway Administration and had been recommended for promotion in 1971; that he had been informed that he would not receive his promotion unless he contributed one percent of his salary to the Nassau County Republican Party; that he did not make the contribution and did not receive his promotion. Plaintiffs alleged that Landi was again solicited for a contribution at some subsequent time, and that after again refusing to contribute, he was dismissed from his job. 117 Defendants moved for summary judgment dismissing Landi's claims on the ground that he had been terminated because he had failed to pass a required Civil Service examination; that his failure occurred in February 1973 and he was notified of the required termination by October 15, 1973; and that his claims therefore accrued more than three years prior to the December 14, 1976 commencement of the present action. Landi submitted an affidavit in opposition to summary judgment, asserting that his claims did not accrue until December 31, 1973, the date of his actual termination, because he had hopes until the end that he would remain in the employ of the County. 118 The district court granted summary judgment dismissing Landi's claims as time-barred on the ground that they had accrued in October 1973 because at that time Landi knew or had reason to know that his employment would be terminated because of his failure to pass the Civil Service examination. Landi challenges this ruling on appeal, contending that genuine issues of fact existed as to the date of the accrual of his claims. 119 Guided principally by our above dispositions with respect to the proper disposition of plaintiffs' claims against the County, we conclude that the dismissal of Landi's claims must be vacated in part. 120
121 Federal law governs the question of when a federal claim accrues, even if a state statute of limitations is to be applied. E.g., Leonhard v. United States, 633 F.2d at 613. Under federal principles, a claim accrues when the plaintiff knows or has reason to know of the injury that is the basis of the action. Pauk v. Board of Trustees, 654 F.2d at 859. 122 The district court found that there was no genuine question of fact as to the date of accrual of Landi's claims because Landi knew or should have known in October 1973 that his employment would be terminated because of his failure to pass the Civil Service examination. While this ruling appears to have missed the thrust of Landi's affidavit submitted in opposition to summary judgment, we conclude that the affidavit failed to show that there was a genuine issue as to whether or not Landi should have known by October 1973 that he had a claim based on the alleged coercive practices. 123 Landi's affidavit, in order to demonstrate that loss of employment on account of a failure to pass the Civil Service exam was not automatic, asserted in part as follows: 124 It was a well-known fact that the Civil Service systm [sic ] in Nassau County was perverted to the ends of the Republican party under the leadership of Margiotta to coerce and pressure governmental employees. The mere fact that a person failed or passed an exam had no bearing whatsoever on whether he would be fired or get the job. All job appointments were approved by Margiotta. If one flunked he would, if he paid the one (1%) percent, be transferred to another job. 125 (Affidavit of Michael Landi dated December 1, 1983, at 1.) Although the affidavit tends to negate the inference that Landi would automatically have been dismissed on account of his test failure, it does not make the claim based on his loss of employment any more timely, for the affidavit made no semblance of a suggestion that Landi believed he would avoid termination by making the requested payment. Rather, it suggested that Landi himself had no intention of paying the demanded one percent, stating that he was asked for the contribution and refused to make it. Landi's acknowledgment that defendants' coercive and pressure tactics were well-known and that one who failed the exam could remain in the County's employ if he paid the one (1%) percent  (emphasis added) revealed that he had reason to know in October 1973, in light of his lack of any intent to make that payment, that he would be dismissed. 126 Accordingly, the district court's conclusion that Landi's claim based on his 1973 loss of job accrued in October 1973 was correct. 127
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.
136 In sum, we affirm so much of the 1985 Judgment with regard to Landi as dismissed his claim against the County with respect to his loss of employment in 1973 and as dismissed both of his claims against the Town and the Town Committee. We vacate so much of the 1985 Judgment as dismissed his pre-1973 claim against the County for denial of promotion and as dismissed both his promotion and loss-of-employment claims against the County Committee. 137