Torry v. Northrop Grumman Corp‪.‬

ARGUED JANUARY 26, 2005 Nancy Torry filed this suit against her employer alleging a violation only of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; although the charge she had filed with the EEOC had also alleged racial discrimination (she is black), the complaint in her court suit did not mention race. During years of pretrial proceedings, however, it quickly became apparent that she was seeking a remedy for racial discrimination, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as for age discrimination. Her brief in opposition to Northrop Grumman's motion for summary judgment was explicit on this score, and Northrop Grumman never doubted that Title VII was in the case. But Torry's lawyer never moved to amend the complaint to add a Title VII charge, and Northrop argued that the failure to amend was fatal and barred a claim of racial discrimination. The judge disagreed and went on to consider the merits of both the age discrimination and racial discrimination charges. He ruled in favor of Northrop Grumman on both claims; but the defendant, while defending the judge's ruling on the merits, also insists that he should never have reached the merits of the racial claim.