Opinion ID: 545493
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Retroactivity of Patterson

Text: 38 Finally, plaintiffs contend that the district court should not have applied Patterson to their claims retroactively because (a) so much time had been spent in discovery under pre-Patterson law, and (b) their relationship with defendants was not that of employee-employer, and hence they cannot bring an action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Secs. 2000e to 2000e-17 (1982) (Title VII), and they have no other federal remedy available to them for discriminatory performance of the contracts. We are unpersuaded. 39 A federal court generally will apply the law in effect at the time it renders its decision. See Bradley v. School Board of Richmond, 416 U.S. 696, 711, 94 S.Ct. 2006, 2016, 40 L.Ed.2d 476 (1974); Bolden v. Alston, 810 F.2d 353, 357 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 896, 108 S.Ct. 229, 98 L.Ed.2d 188 (1987). The court may depart from this rule in a particular case in light of the three criteria articulated in Chevron Oil Co. v. Huson, 404 U.S. 97, 92 S.Ct. 349, 30 L.Ed.2d 296 (1971): 40 First, the decision to be applied nonretroactively must establish a new principle of law, [as] by overruling clear past precedent on which litigants may have relied.... Second, ... 'we must ... weigh the merits and demerits in each case by looking to the prior history of the rule in question, its purpose and effect, and whether retrospective operation will further or retard its operation.' ... Finally, we have weighed the inequity imposed by retroactive application.... 41 Id. at 106-07, 92 S.Ct. at 355-56 (quoting Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U.S. 618, 629, 85 S.Ct. 1731, 1738, 14 L.Ed.2d 601 (1965)). However, when the Supreme Court, in announcing a new principle, itself applies it retroactively to the case at bar, generally  'no sound reason exists for not doing so'  in a later appeal. Welyczko v. U.S. Air, Inc., 733 F.2d 239, 241 (2d Cir.) (quoting Holzsager v. Valley Hospital, 646 F.2d 792, 797 (2d Cir.1981)), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1036, 105 S.Ct. 512, 83 L.Ed.2d 402 (1984). Since the Supreme Court applied the principles announced in Patterson to the facts in that case, which had been litigated to final judgment, we are unpersuaded by plaintiffs' argument that retroactivity should be denied here on account of the large amount of time spent in discovery. Accord Lavender v. V & B Transmissions & Auto Repair, 897 F.2d at 806-07 (applying Patterson to previously-rendered district court judgment); Carroll v. General Accident Insurance Co. of America, 891 F.2d 1174 (5th Cir.1990) (same); Courtney v. Canyon Television & Appliance Rental, 899 F.2d at 849 (same). 42 We also reject plaintiffs' contention that Patterson should not be applied to their case retroactively because they have no Title VII remedy. Though the Supreme Court mentioned in Patterson that the plaintiff in that case did have a Title VII remedy, we do not believe the Court meant to imply that the mak[ing] and enforce[ment] of contracts as used in Sec. 1981 has broader scope when the contract is for goods or services other than employment.