Opinion ID: 3001188
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Summary Judgment Was Proper On Peirick’s Age

Text: Discrimination Claim, Because the Defendants Are Immune From Suit Peirick also charges IUPUI, the Athletics Department, and the Board of Trustees of Indiana University with violating the ADEA, which makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee in the terms and conditions of her employment on the basis of age. 29 U.S.C. § 623(a)(1). Defendants counter that the Eleventh Amendment shields them from suit under the ADEA, and we agree. (They do not claim immunity from suit on Peirick’s gender discrimination claim, because Congress “validly abrogated the States’ Eleventh Amendment immunity with respect to Title VII disparate treatment claims.” Nanda v. Bd. of Trs. of the Univ. of Ill., 303 F.3d 817, 831 (7th Cir. 2002). At the outset, we note that the Athletics Department is not a legal entity apart from the University. It is merely a division of the University that is not capable of being sued. See Whiting v. Marathon County Sheriff ’s Dep’t, 382 F.3d 700, 704 (7th Cir. 2004) (“[T]he Marathon County Sheriff ’s Department is not a legal entity separable from the county government which it serves and is therefore, not subject to suit.”); West By & Through Norris v. Waymire, 114 F.3d 646-47 (7th Cir. 1997) (“The naming of the Town’s Police Department as a defendant adds nothing; it is almost certainly not a suable entity separate from the Town.”). So we consider only whether IUPUI and the Board of Trustees of Indiana University enjoy Eleventh Amendment immunity. 5 (...continued) to reconsider. See Geffon v. Micrion Corp., 249 F.3d 29, 38 (1st Cir. 2001); Cameo Convalescent Center, Inc. v. Percy, 800 F.2d 108, 110 (7th Cir. 1986); United States v. Acosta, 669 F.2d 292, 293 (5th Cir. 1982). No. 06-1538 23 The Eleventh Amendment provides: “The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.” U.S. Const. Amend. XI. Although the Amendment speaks of suits filed by citizens of another state, the Supreme Court “has consistently held that an unconsenting State is immune from suits brought in federal courts by her own citizens as well as by citizens of another State.” Edelman v. Jordan, 415 U.S. 651, 662-63 (1974) (internal citations omitted). The Amendment usually bars actions in federal court against a state, state agencies, or state officials acting in their official capacities, see Gossmeyer v. McDonald, 128 F.3d 481, 487 (7th Cir. 1997), but three exceptions exist. First, a state may waive immunity by consenting to suit in federal court; second, Congress may abrogate the state’s immunity through a valid exercise of its powers; third, under the Ex parte Young doctrine, a plaintiff may file “suit[] against state officials seeking prospective equitable relief for ongoing violations of federal law . . . .” Marie O. v. Edgar, 131 F.3d 610, 615 (7th Cir. 1997); see Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123, 159-60 (1908). Peirick does not contend that Indiana consented to suit in federal court. Her ability to resort to the second exception was cut short in Kimel v. Fla. Bd. of Regents, 528 U.S. 62, 91 (2000), where the Court held that “in the ADEA, Congress did not validly abrogate the States’ sovereign immunity to suits by private individuals.” So only the Ex parte Young exception remains, and Peirick has not availed herself of that option. Although Peirick requests only prospective injunctive relief, she has not brought suit against a state official. Indeed, Peirick cannot seriously dispute that IUPUI, a partnership between Indiana and Purdue Universities, is an agency of the state of Indiana. See Woods v. Ind. 24 No. 06-1538 Univ.-Purdue Univ., 996 F.2d 880, 883 (7th Cir. 1993) (citing favorably Shannon v. Bepko, 684 F. Supp. 1465 (S. D. Ind. 1988), which held Indiana University and IUPUI to be agencies of the state); see also Porco v. Trs. of Ind. Univ., 453 F.3d 390, 394-95 (7th Cir. 2006); Kashani v. Purdue Univ., 813 F.2d 843, 844 (7th Cir. 1987). And, as explained below, the Board of Trustees of Indiana University is an agency of the state. Many courts have held that the governing bodies of their state universities enjoy the same immunity from suit as the universities themselves. See Richardson v. Southern Univ., 118 F.3d 450, 455 (5th Cir. 1997) (“Southern [University] and its Board are considered an agency of the State of Louisiana”); Hall v. Hawaii, 791 F.2d 759, 761 (9th Cir. 1986) (holding that the University of Hawaii and its board of regents “are clearly immune as agencies of the state”); Harden v. Adams, 760 F.2d 1158, 1164 (11th Cir. 1985) (noting that “the Board of Trustees of a state university is entitled to sovereign immunity as an instrumentality of the state”); Cannon v. Univ. of Health Sciences/Chi. Med. Sch., 710 F.2d 351, 356 (7th Cir. 1983) (Southern Illinois University and the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois are state agencies with Eleventh Amendment immunity); Wellman v. Tr. of Purdue Univ., 581 F. Supp. 1228, n.1 (N.D. Ind. 1984) (“[F]or purposes of Eleventh Amendment immunity, no distinction can, should, or will be drawn between Purdue University and its Board of Trustees.”); see also Joseph v. Bd. of Regents of the Univ. of Wis. Sys., 432 F.3d 746, 748 (7th Cir. 2005) (“The [Wisconsin Board of Regents] is an ‘arm of the state’ for Eleventh Amendment purposes.”). So it seems to follow that the Board of Trustees of Indiana University, like the university, is a state agency. And an examination of the factors relevant for determining whether an entity is an agency of the state leads to that exact conclusion. No. 06-1538 25 In deciding whether an entity is an agency of the state, the most important factor is “the extent of the entity’s financial autonomy from the state.” Kashani, 813 F.2d at 845. That inquiry is composed of five subparts: (1) the extent of state funding; (2) the state’s oversight and control of the entity’s fiscal affairs; (3) the entity’s ability to raise funds; (4) whether the entity is subject to state taxation; and (5) whether a judgment against the entity would result in an increase in its appropriations. Id. Beyond these financial considerations, we also consider the general legal status of the entity. Id. at 846-47. Where this factor is concerned, we prioritize substance over form. Id. at 847. The Board has only limited financial autonomy. The Board holds and expends Indiana University’s financial assets, see Ind. Code § 21-31-2-4 (2007), and a significant percentage of those assets are derived from the state. During the 2004-2005 academic year, for example, state appropriations accounted for 24% of Indiana University’s revenue. See Indiana University Financial Report 2004-2005, available at http://www.indiana.edu/~vpcfo/ fy2005.pdf (last visited Dec. 11, 2007). The state exercises substantial control over the Board’s fiscal affairs and its ability to raise funds. In certain instances, the Board must gain the approval of the governor and the state’s budget agency before issuing bonds, see Ind. Code § 21-35-2-21, or making capital expenditures, see Ind. Code § 21-35-2-20. Although the Board collects funds for the University from sources outside the state, it depends on the state’s financial support. See Kashani, 813 F.2d at 846. Since that financial support is carefully allocated, a judgment against the Board would “affect the state treasury.” Id. This becomes even more apparent given that the Board is authorized to employ officers, faculty, consultants, and counsel, see Ind. Code § 21-38-3-1, and to pay the fees that these persons incur as a result of their 26 No. 06-1538 employment or performance of duties for the school. See Ind. Code § 21-38-4-1. The Board’s general legal status similarly suggests an agency relationship. Specifically, the Indiana Code includes state boards and universities in the definition of state agencies. Ind. Code § 4-12-1-2. Moreover, the governor, the state’s chief executive, necessarily has some control over the Board because six of the nine members of the Board are gubernatorial appointees. Ind. Code § 21-20-3-12 to 13; see Kashani, 813 F.2d at 847. We also find it significant that the Board, like Indiana University, serves the entire state. See Kashani, 813 F.2d at 847-48. Taken together, these factors lead us to conclude that the Board of Trustees of Indiana University is but an agency of the state, which operates the school under state oversight. See Russell v. Tr. of Purdue Univ., 168 N.E. 529, 535 (Ind. 1929) (citing Tucker v. Pollock, 43 A. 369 (R.I. 1899) for the proposition that the Board of Managers of the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts “is but the agent of the state to carry out the purposes of the General Assembly in connection with the establishment and maintenance of the college.”). As such, Peirick may not proceed against the Board even on her claims for prospective injunctive relief.6 See Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Auth. v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., 506 U.S. 139, 146 (1993) (“[t]he doctrine of Ex parte Young . . . has no application in suits against the States and their agencies, which are barred regardless of the relief sought”); Buchwald v. Univ. of N.M. Sch. of Med., 159 F.3d 487, 496 (10th Cir. 1998) (“[A]lthough the Ex Parte Young exception does not permit plaintiff to subject 6 A different result may have obtained had Peirick sued individual members of the Board in their official capacities. See Kashani, 813 F.2d at 848. No. 06-1538 27 [University of New Mexico School of Medicine], [and] its Regents . . . to suit because they are state agencies, plaintiff may maintain an action against the individual defendants in their official capacities . . . .”); Wasserman v. Purdue Univ., 431 F. Supp. 2d 911, 916 (N.D. Ind. 2006) (“[T]he Board of Trustees [of Purdue University] is a political arm of the state which is immune to suit. [Plaintiff] did not name the individual members of the Board of Trustees, in their official or individual capacities. Because Purdue has not waived that immunity, the Eleventh Amendment precludes this court from exercising jurisdiction.”). Because IUPUI and the Board are immune from suit, the district court’s grant of summary judgment was proper.