Court Opinion

ID: 9403310
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-20 20:00:28.518309+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:06.082767
License: Public Domain

NOT PRECEDENTIAL

                       UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                            FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
                                 ___________

                                       No. 22-3199
                                       __________

                                 SAMUEL O. ARAOYE,
                                               Appellant

                                             v.

                              CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
                       ____________________________________

                     On Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
                         (D.C. Civil Action No. 2:19-cv-00719)
                      District Judge: Honorable Wendy Beetlestone
                      ____________________________________

                   Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a)
                                    June 13, 2023

              Before: JORDAN, CHUNG, and NYGAARD, Circuit Judges

                              (Opinion filed: June 20, 2023)

                                       ___________

                                        OPINION*
                                       ___________

*
 This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
constitute binding precedent.
PER CURIAM

       Samuel Araoye appeals pro se from the District Court’s order granting summary

judgment against him in this employment-discrimination lawsuit that he brought against

the City of Philadelphia (“the City”) and others. For the following reasons, we will

affirm the District Court’s judgment.

                                             I.

       In 2014, the City hired Araoye as an accountant trainee, and it promoted him to an

accountant position the following year. In 2017, the City promoted him again, this time

to an accountant-supervisor position, which was subject to a six-month probationary

period. Araoye received two performance evaluations during that period; the first rated

his performance as “superior,” but the second rated his performance as “unacceptable.”

Thereafter, at or near the end of the probationary period, he received a rejection notice for

the accountant-supervisor position. “The notice described a number of issues related to

his work performance, including missing [documents], a disorganized workstation,

improper delegation of work to subordinates, failure to follow priorities, and working

unauthorized overtime hours.” (Dist. Ct. Mem. Op. entered Oct. 31, 2022, at 1-2.)

       In view of the rejection notice, Araoye was reinstated to his accountant position.

He subsequently reapplied for the accountant-supervisor provision, but he was removed

from consideration due to the rejection notice and his poor second evaluation. Later, in

2019, he resigned from his employment with the City.

                                             2
         Shortly after Araoye received the rejection notice, he filed a complaint with the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), alleging that the City had

discriminated against him on the basis of his race, color, and national origin.1 The EEOC

dismissed the complaint and issued a right-to-sue letter. Thereafter, in 2019, Araoye filed

a pro se complaint in the District Court against several City employees and a union vice

president, raising claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Title

VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The defendants then moved to dismiss the complaint

pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). In 2020, the District Court granted

those motions, concluding, inter alia, that the ADA claim was unexhausted and that the

Title VII claim could only be brought against the City.

         Thereafter, the District Court granted Araoye’s motion for permission to file an

amended complaint. His amended complaint named the City as the lone defendant and

raised claims under Title VII, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (“PHRA”), and 42

U.S.C. § 1981. The City subsequently moved to dismiss the Title VII and PHRA claims

as time-barred, while Araoye filed multiple motions to file a second amended complaint

that would revise the first amended complaint by adding the previously dismissed

individual defendants. The District Court denied Araoye’s motions to further amend and

granted the City’s partial motion to dismiss.

1
    Araoye is Black and was born in Nigeria.
                                                3
         All that remained was Araoye’s § 1981 claim, which alleged that the City had

discriminated against him on the basis of his race. After discovery, the City and Araoye

filed cross-motions for summary judgment. On October 31, 2022, the District Court

rejected Araoye’s arguments and granted the City’s motion. The District Court

concluded that (1) “Section 1981 does not provide an implied private cause of action,” 2

and (2) even if Araoye’s § 1981 claim were treated as a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, it

would lack merit because he “fail[ed] to demonstrate his alleged statutory injuries were

caused by an official policy or custom of the City as required under [Monell v. Dep’t of

Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978)].” (Dist. Ct. Mem. Op. entered Oct. 31, 2022, at 5, 7.)3

This timely appeal followed.4

                                             II.

         Araoye’s briefing here is far from a model of clarity. Although we construe his

briefing liberally, see Talley v. Wetzel, 15 F.4th 275, 286 n.7 (3d Cir. 2021) (noting a

court’s obligation to liberally construe pro se filings), we cannot conclude that his

2
 Although there is a § 1981 private right of action against individuals, in denying
Araoye’s motion to file a second amended complaint, the District Court explained why
adding the individual defendants to Araoye’s § 1981 claim would have been futile.
3
 The District Court explained that, because it disposed of Araoye’s claim “on the policy-
or-custom requirement of Monell, it [was] unnecessary to determine whether Araoye
ha[d] made a sufficient case as to the underlying statutory violation.” (Dist. Ct. Mem.
Op. entered Oct. 31, 2022, at 12.)
4
    We have jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
                                               4
opening brief has preserved a challenge to the District Court’s order dismissing his

original complaint, its order dismissing the Title VII and PHRA claims raised in his first

amended complaint, or its orders denying his motions to file a second amended

complaint. Accordingly, we deem these undeveloped issues forfeited. See United States

v. Savage, 970 F.3d 217, 280 n.70 (3d Cir. 2020) (indicating that an appellant forfeits an

issue if he fails to raise it in his opening brief or makes only a passing reference to it in

that brief). The remainder of our discussion focuses on the District Court’s summary-

judgment decision.5

                                              III.

5
  The District Court, in addition to issuing the orders mentioned above, made numerous
miscellaneous rulings during the approximately three-and-a-half years that this case was
pending before it. To the extent that Araoye has preserved a challenge to one or more of
those miscellaneous rulings, he has not shown that the ruling(s) in question should be
disturbed.

        Among other things, Araoye’s opening brief repeatedly refers to the District Court
docket number that corresponds to the District Court’s order, entered March 5, 2020,
granting his motion to file his first amended complaint. In doing so, he appears to argue
that, by styling the case caption of that order so that it listed the City as the only
defendant, the District Court “wrongfully acquitted” the individual defendants. (See
Araoye’s Opening Br. 5, 21.) But this argument is meritless. The styling of the case
caption did not serve to “acquit” a defendant, let alone “wrongfully acquit” a defendant.
And the caption’s listing the City as the only defendant was not otherwise error. After
all, when the District Court entered its March 5, 2020 order, all of the claims against the
individual defendants had already been dismissed, and Araoye’s first amended complaint
(which was attached to his motion for permission to file) listed the City as the lone
defendant.
                                               5
       We review the District Court’s summary-judgment decision under a plenary

standard. See Barna v. Bd. of Sch. Dirs. of Panther Valley Sch. Dist., 877 F.3d 136, 141

(3d Cir. 2017). Summary judgment is appropriate when the movant “shows that there is

no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a

matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). Although the non-movant’s evidence “is to be

believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his favor in determining

whether a genuine factual question exists,” summary judgment should be granted “unless

there is sufficient evidence for a jury to reasonably find for the nonmovant.” Barefoot

Architect, Inc. v. Bunge, 632 F.3d 822, 826 (3d Cir. 2011) (internal quotation marks

omitted).

       The District Court, in granting the City’s summary-judgment motion, correctly

concluded that Araoye could not pursue his § 1981 claim. See McGovern v. City of

Philadelphia, 554 F.3d 114, 122 (3d Cir. 2009) (holding that § 1981 does not provide an

implied private cause of action against state actors like the City).6 Furthermore, the

District Court did not err in concluding that, to the extent that Araoye’s claim of racial

discrimination should instead be construed as arising under § 1983, that claim failed on

the merits. To prevail on a § 1983 claim against a municipality, the plaintiff must show

6
  To the extent that Araoye did not forfeit challenging the District Court’s denial of his
attempt to add the individual defendants to the § 1981 claim, we find the District Court
correctly explained why amendment would have been futile at the motion to dismiss
stage.
                                              6
that he suffered a constitutional violation that was caused by the municipality’s policy or

custom. See Porter v. City of Philadelphia, 975 F.3d 374, 383 & n.45 (3d Cir. 2020)

(citing Monell, 436 U.S. at 690); see also id. at 383 & n.46 (explaining that “a

municipality cannot be held liable under § 1983 on a respondeat superior theory”

(quoting Monell, 436 at 691)). For substantially the reasons set forth in the District

Court’s thorough and cogent opinion, we agree with the District Court that Araoye failed

to make that showing. (See Dist. Ct. Mem. Op. entered Oct. 31, 2022, at 7-12.)

       In view of the above, we will affirm the District Court’s judgment.7 The City’s

motion to supplement the appendix is granted. Araoye’s motion to supplement the

appendix is granted to the extent that he seeks to include material from the District Court

record, but it is denied to the extent that he seeks to include material outside of that

record. See Burton v. Teleflex Inc., 707 F.3d 417, 435 (3d Cir. 2013) (indicating that a

party may supplement the record on appeal in only “exceptional circumstances”). To the

extent that Araoye asks us to strike the City’s brief, that request is denied. Lastly, to the

extent that Araoye seeks any other relief from us, that relief is denied, too.

7
 To the extent that Araoye argues that the District Court was biased against him, we see
no evidence of any bias. See generally Arrowpoint Cap. Corp. v. Arrowpoint Asset
Mgmt., LLC, 793 F.3d 313, 330 (3d Cir. 2015) (explaining that “adverse rulings . . . are
not in themselves proof of prejudice or bias”).
                                             7