Baker v. King's Daughters Hospital

This is a job discrimination case. Count I of the complaint raises the question whether, in the unusual circumstances this case presents, the plaintiff may bring suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000 et seq. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (E.E.O.C.) had previously brought a Title VII suit on behalf of Ms. Shirley B. Truvillion, the charging party, and others similarly situated, seeking the same relief Ms. Truvillion now seeks in the instant suit. The district court dismissed Suit I because of the E.E.O.C.""s failure to comply with preconditions (termed ""jurisdictional"") requisite to the court's going forward to determine the substantive claim. The first prerequisite was compliance with the requirement of the Commission's regulation, 29 C.F.R. § 1601.23 (1974), that it notify the respondent promptly in writing of its unsuccessful attempt to obtain a conciliation agreement. Federal agencies, of course, must obey their own regulations. The second prerequisite was a good faith investigation of the charges, particularly including consideration of the qualifications of the charging party for the job for which she was rejected. The court concluded therefore that the E.E.O.C. had failed to establish a prima facie case of racial discrimination as defined by the United States Supreme Court in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 1973, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S. Ct. 1817, 36 L. Ed. 2d 668. In the action now before us, Suit II, the district court granted summary judgment for the defendant on the ground that the earlier judgment was res judicata as to the plaintiff's Title VII claim. We hold that the district court erred in applying the res judicata doctrine; the court in the earlier case never reached the merits of the complaint. Count II of the complaint was brought under the Civil Rights Act of 1870, 42 U.S.C. § 1981. We hold that the district court erred in applying the Mississippi three year statute of limitations, applicable to unwritten contracts, rather than the Mississippi six year catch-all statute, applicable to actions not covered specifically by a statute of limitations.