Opinion ID: 618714
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: NAACP's Disparate-Impact Claim

Text: In April 2007, the Newark Branch of the NAACP, the New Jersey Conference of the NAACP, and firefighter candidates Allen Wallace, Lamara Wapples, and Altarik White (collectively, NAACP Plaintiffs) sued North Hudson alleging that its residency requirement causes a disparate impact on African-American applicants. In February 2009, the District Court certified the NAACP Plaintiffs' class and preliminarily enjoined North Hudson from hiring firefighters from its then-current eligibility list, which included only those candidates who were residents of the North Hudson municipalities when they took the statewide exam. NAACP v. N. Hudson Reg'l Fire & Rescue, 255 F.R.D. 374 (D.N.J. 2009). North Hudson filed an interlocutory appeal. While that appeal was pending, in June 2009, the Supreme Court decided Ricci v. DeStefano, 557 U.S. 557, 129 S.Ct. 2658, 174 L.Ed.2d 490 (2009), and in September 2009, the District Court permitted six Hispanic firefighters eligible for hiring based on North Hudson's then-current list to intervene. Because Ricci involved the interplay between disparate-impact and disparate-treatment claims, we remanded the case sua sponte to the District Court in March 2010. On April 23, 2010, the District Court found that North Hudson's residency requirement might be lawful because of business necessity. Based on that finding and equitable considerations, the District Court vacated the preliminary injunction. After the preliminary injunction was vacated, the parties moved for summary judgment. The NAACP Plaintiffs sought judgment on their disparate-impact claim and a permanent injunction against North Hudson's use of the Residents-Only List. North Hudson argued that the NAACP Plaintiffs failed to establish a causal relationship between the residency requirement and the statistical disparity in its African-American employment ratio. Alternatively, North Hudson claimed it had established the business-necessity defense. In addition, North Hudson and Intervenors claimed that Ricci provided a separate defense, and Intervenors sought attorney's fees for their role in causing vacatur of the District Court's February 2009 preliminary injunction. The District Court granted the NAACP Plaintiffs' motion, permanently enjoined North Hudson's use of its Residents-Only List, and denied Intervenors' request for attorney's fees. NAACP v. N. Hudson Reg'l Fire & Rescue (North Hudson), 742 F.Supp.2d 501 (D.N.J.2010). [4]