Opinion ID: 508848
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 2 The appellant, Thomas E. Bates, is an employee of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Appellee, Engelstad, is the director of the TVA division in which Bates is employed. In 1983, Bates filed suit with the EEOC alleging that TVA and Engelstad discriminated against him on the basis of race. The EEOC denied relief on April 22, 1987, and on May 21, 1987, Bates filed a complaint in the District Court for the Northern District of Alabama against TVA and Engelstad, thereby complying with the statutory requirement that a litigant file a Title VII complaint in the district court within thirty days after the EEOC decision. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-16(c). 3 On August 6, 1987, TVA and Engelstad filed motions to dismiss asserting that neither was a head of the department, agency, or unit ... under that portion of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-16(c) which delineates the proper parties in Title VII actions. On August 17, 1987, Bates filed a motion to amend his complaint to add the proper parties, TVA Board members Charles H. Dean, Jr. and John B. Waters (Board members). On October 6, 1987, the district court dismissed TVA and Engelstad and denied Bates's motion to amend his complaint to add the Board members as defendants. The Board members have not filed any motions or pleadings in this action. 4 This appeal tests the district court's ruling denying the right to amend and granting dismissal.