Opinion ID: 796153
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Present Action and the Motions To Dismiss

Text: 13 Bogle-Assegai commenced the present action in December 2002 against the State and CHRO, against Watts-Elder in her official capacity, and against Appleton and Newton in their official and individual capacities, alleging that Bogle-Assegai had been the victim of discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin. The complaint alleged that the State and CHRO had subjected her to a hostile work environment and terminated her employment in violation of Title VII. Invoking 42 U.S.C. § 1983, it alleged that defendants had discriminated against Bogle-Assegai on the basis of race, color, and national origin in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and her right to equal protection. The complaint also alleged that defendants' conduct violated the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CFEPA), Conn. Gen.Stat. §§ 46a-70, 46a-71. The parties consented to have the case assigned to a magistrate judge for all purposes. 14 Following discovery, defendants moved to dismiss Bogle-Assegai's claims on various grounds. Appleton and Newton, who in their amended answer to the complaint had alleged insufficiency of service of process, sought dismissal pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(5) of the claims asserted against them in their individual capacities, arguing that they had not been served personally. They submitted affidavits stating that they had been served only through the office of the State Attorney General and that they had not authorized that office to accept service on their behalf. 15 In addition, all defendants moved pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 for summary judgment dismissing Bogle-Assegai's §§ 1981 and 1983 claims against the State, CHRO, and the individual defendants in their official capacities on the ground that those claims were barred by the Eleventh Amendment. Defendants contended that the Eleventh Amendment also barred Bogle-Assegai's pursuit of her state-law claims in federal court, as the Connecticut legislature only authorized suit in the Connecticut Superior Court on such claims, not in the federal court. (Defendants' Memorandum in Support of Their Motion for Summary Judgment (Defendants' Summary Judgment Memorandum) at 39 (emphasis in original).) 16 Defendants sought summary judgment dismissing Bogle-Assegai's Title VII claims on the ground that they were time-barred because she had not filed her administrative charge with the EEOC within the 180-day period specified by 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1) for filings with the EEOC. Defendants noted that the period for Bogle-Assegai to file an administrative claim of discriminatory discharge began on the date on which she received notification that her employment would thereafter be terminated ( see Defendants' Summary Judgment Memorandum at 23 (citing Delaware State College v. Ricks, 449 U.S. 250, 101 S.Ct. 498, 66 L.Ed.2d 431 (1980))); that Bogle-Assegai had received formal notice of termination on March 29, 2001; and that she had filed her charge with the EEOC on October 1, 2001, more than 180 days later. Defendants observed that § 2000e-5(e)(1) provides that the filing period is 300 days rather than 180 days where a claimant has filed her claims with a state or local agency, but they pointed out that Bogle-Assegai 17 did not institute proceedings with a state or local agency (i.e. CHRO) with authority to grant relief in compliance with 42 [U.]S.C. § 2000e-5(e), nor did the EEOC defer the Complainant's charge to the state agency ... in Connecticut for an investigation. Therefore, the appropriate limitations period is 180 days from March 29, 2001. . . . 18 Since there was no dual filing with both CHRO and EEOC (it was filed only with EEOC), the plaintiff is not entitled to 300 days and her Title VII claim is untimely and must be dismissed for this reason [among others]. National RR Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101, 122 S.Ct. 2061, 153 L.Ed.2d 106 ... (2002). 19 (Defendants' Summary Judgment Memorandum at 24 (emphases in original).) 20 Defendants also argued that Bogle-Assegai could not present a prima facie case of prohibited discrimination, asserting, inter alia, that her fraudulent reporting of time worked had been the sole reason for her dismissal. ( See id. at 25-31; see also Defendants' Rule 56(a)1 Statement of Facts ¶ 97 (Plaintiff was terminated for falsifying her time records and the theft of state time.); Plaintiff's Rule 56(B)1 Statement of Facts ¶ 97 (Admit.).) 21 Bogle-Assegai opposed defendants' motions to dismiss, arguing principally that she could present a prima facie case of discrimination. As to the motions of Appleton and Newton to dismiss the individual-capacity claims asserted against them, however, Bogle-Assegai admitted that those defendants had not been personally served and that they had not authorized anyone to accept personal service on their behalf ( see Defendants' Rule 56(a)1 Statement of Facts ¶¶ 5, 7; Plaintiff's Rule 56(B)1 Statement of Facts ¶¶ 5, 7), and she did not offer any argument as to why the individual-capacity claims against them should not be dismissed for lack of service of process. Nor did Bogle-Assegai offer any argument as to why the State, CHRO, and the individual defendants in their official capacities did not have Eleventh Amendment immunity with respect to her §§ 1981 and 1983 claims or her state-law claims as asserted in this action. 22 With respect to defendants' contention that her Title VII claims were time-barred, Bogle-Assegai argued as follows: 23 The defendants argue that the statute began to run on March 29, 2001, when Mrs. Bogle-Assegai was informed that she would be terminated. Mrs. Bogle-Assegai suggests that the court should not use the date that the defendant indicates she would be terminated; but rather the date that she was in fact terminated. Mrs. Bogle-Assegai was effectively terminated April 12, 2001. Further, the question whether a court may, for purposes of determining liability, review all such conduct, including those acts that occur outside the filing period, turns on the statutory requirement that a charge be filed within a certain number of days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred. Because such a claim is composed of a series of separate acts that collectively constitute one unlawful employment practice, it does not matter that some of the component acts fall outside the statutory time period. Provided that an act contributing to the claim occurs within the filing period, the entire time period of the hostile environment may be considered for the purposes of determining liability. National Railroad Passenger Corporation v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101, 122 S.Ct. 2061, 153 L.Ed.2d 106 (2002). 24 (Plaintiff's Memorandum in Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Bogle-Assegai Memorandum Opposing Summary Judgment) at 5-6.)