Opinion ID: 75924
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Real and Present Interest

Text: 18 We conclude that the EEOC did not meet its burden of showing that Coyle and Munoz possessed real and present interests in food server positions at Joe's during the actionable period. Coyle, for example, did not apply to Joe's until sometime in the fall of 1991, and there is no indication that she ever contemplated applying at any earlier date. In fact, the district court awarded damages to Coyle based solely on her 1991 application, without any finding that she would have applied earlier. (R.11-324 at 12-13.) Munoz likewise did not apply until the fall of 1991, but the district court found that Munoz intended to apply long before the October 1989 roll call. (R.11-324 at 10.) Whatever Munoz's intention prior to 1989, however, we have found no evidence that Munoz had a real and present interest in applying at Joe's at the October 1990 roll call. The only specific dates mentioned by Munoz were 1983, when she first wanted to apply but refrained because she thought she was too young, and 1991, when she actually applied. (R.18 at 583-84.) Although Munoz testified that she refrained from applying prior to 1991 because she heard that Joe's did not hire women (R.18 at 584), this testimony does not reveal what specific dates between 1983 and 1991 she contemplated applying. Because the EEOC failed to demonstrate that Coyle and Munoz had real and present interests in applying at the 1990 roll call, its prima facie case as to these claimants was not supported by a preponderance of the evidence, and the district court clearly erred in finding otherwise. 19 By contrast, the record sufficiently supports a finding that Stratford and Romanello both possessed a real and present interest in applying during the actionable period. Although Stratford did not actually apply until October 1991, she testified that she moved from New Jersey to Miami Beach in 1990 with the intention of attending Joe's roll call that year. (R.17 at 323, 326-28.) Similarly, even though Romanello did not apply until October 1993, she testified that she first looked into working at Joe's several years earlier, making inquiries about the roll calls throughout the years from 1989 to 1993. (R.16 at 200; R.38 at 396.) 20