Joseph R. Everett vs. The 357 Corp. & another
Case Details
- Citation
- 453 Mass. 585
- Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
- appeal
- State
- Massachusetts
Related Laws
No specific laws identified for this ruling.
Claim Types
Outcome
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reversed a jury verdict awarding the plaintiff $757,701 in damages, finding that the Superior Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiff's 1999 discrimination claims because he failed to file a predicate complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) related to those claims. The court set aside the jury verdict and remanded for entry of a judgment of dismissal.
Excerpt
Joseph R. Everett vs. The 357 Corp. & another. Norfolk. December 2, 2008. April 13, 2009. Present: Marshall, C.J., Ireland, Spina, Cowin, Cordy, & Botsford, JJ. Anti-Discrimination Law, Handicap, Employment. Americans with Disabilities Act. Practice, Civil, Judgment notwithstanding verdict. Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. Jurisdiction, Administrative matter, Superior Court, Primary jurisdiction. Administrative Law, Primary jurisdiction. Brief summary of the statutory scheme governing the scope of discrimination claims filed in the Superior Court pursuant to G. L. c. 151B and the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq. [599-602], and the limitations of a complaint filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination on a subsequently filed civil action in Superior Court [602-603]. In an action brought in Superior Court by a plaintiff alleging that his former employer discriminated against him in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the judge erred in denying the employer’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, where the Superior Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction on the only claims for which the jury awarded damages to the plaintiff, given the plaintiff’s failure to file a predicate complaint regarding those claims with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) or to demonstrate that those claims were encompassed by an earlier MCAD filing, were reasonably related to that earlier filing, or were within the scope of allegations that the MCAD could reasonably be expected to uncover in investigating that earlier filing. [603-608, 611-613] Discussion of the doctrine of primary jurisdiction and its application in an employment discrimination case involving the issue of the employee’s medical qualifications, under regulations of the United States Department of Transportation, to drive commercial motor vehicles. [608-611] Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on February 11, 2000. The case was tried before Charles M. Graban, J. The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred the case from the Appeals Court. Gary M. Feldman for the defendants. Jeffrey M. Feuer (Lee D. Goldstein with him) for the plaintiff. Beverly I. Ward, for Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, amicus curiae, submitted a brief. Nina Joan Kimball, for Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice & others, amici curiae, submitted a brief. Trans-Lease Group. Trans-Lease Group, a holding company, provides administrative services to The 357 Corp. (collectively, the company). Marshall, C.J. The plaintiff, Joseph R. Everett, brought suit in the Superior Court alleging that his former employer, The 357 Corp. and Trans-Lease Group (collectively, the company), discriminated against him in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq. (2000 ed.), and the Massachusetts antidiscrimination statute, G. L. c. 151B, when it did not permit him to return to work as a commercial truck driver after his discharge from a psychiatric hospital in 1996. In his complaint and pretrial pleadings, Everett asserted that he was seeking damages for wrongful actions occurring “in February 1997 and thereafter.” As we describe below, on February 14, 1997, in conformity with regulations promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), the company’s physician declined to certify Everett as medically qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle. At trial, Everett changed his theory of liability to cover alleged acts of discrimination occurring only in 1999, expressly and repeatedly waiving all claims of discrimination by the company before 1999. The company vigorously contested the “waiver” of the earlier claims at every step. See infra. After the close of evidence, again over the company’s vigorous objection, Everett moved to amend his complaint to conform to the evidence by asserting, among other things, a claim for damages based solely on his 1999 claims. The judge submitted both the 1996-1997 claims and the 1999 claims to the jury. The jury found that the company had acted lawfully in connection with Everett’s 1996-1997 termination, but had discriminated against Everett by refusing to reinstate him in 1999. They awarded Everett damages in the amount of $757,701 on the 1999 claims. The trial judge then allowed Everett’s motion to amend, and subsequently awarded Everett fees and costs in the amount of $370,678.58. The company appealed, and we transferred the case here on our own motion. Of the several grounds to vacate urged by the company, we consider only the dispositive issue whether the judge erred in permitting Everett’s 1999 claims to go to the jury where, as we shall explain, he did not file a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) related to those claims. We conclude that Everett’s failure to file a predicate complaint with MCAD deprived the court of subject matter jurisdiction on the only claims for which the jury awarded Everett damages, his 1999 claims. G. L. c. 151B, §§ 5, 9. The company’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict on that ground should have been allowed. We set aside the jury verdict and the award of fees and costs, and remand the case to the Superior Court for the entiy of a judgment of dismissal. 1. Factual background. We recite the relevant facts as the jury could have found them and, where relevant, include additional uncontested material. See Pardo v. General Hosp. Corp., 446 Mass. 1, 3 (2006). a. The events of 1996 and 1997. This dispute has its origins in 1996. In late January or early February of 1996, Everett, who had been employed as a commercial truck driver by the company since 1986, was suspended for one month for sending an inappropriate letter to a woman coworker. Fearing that his job was in jeopardy, Everett contacted Dr. Lillian Sober-Ain, a clinical psychologist, for mental health treatment. Dr. Sober-Ain diagnosed Everett as suffering from an adjustment disorder with depressed mood, and posttraumatic stress disorder with delayed onset. Everett returned to work but, as he testified at trial, when he did so, he was “very nervous,” and “I thought I was being followed by different people, groups of people, whether it be the company, or that girl.” Everett’s mother testified that, when her son returned to work, “he started telling us” that the women who were “involved in his being suspended were following him to his work places.” Everett’s mother also testified that, in June, 1996, while Everett was visiting his family, she became concerned because “he was very upset and yelling about these girls,” saying “they’re following me again.” He would “sometimes” ran outside in the dark, stating that “he heard something,” “thought somebody was trying to do something to his car,” and said that he “heard voices.” His mother testified that her son began “to seem a little paranoid.” A physician recommended by Everett’s union was consulted by the family, who were told that Everett “could be a danger to himself or others and should be in the hospital.” Everett’s family persuaded him to receive treatment at Cape Cod Hospital, and then involuntarily committed him to Bournewood Hospital. See G. L. c. 123, § 12. Everett remained an inpatient at Boumewood Hospital for two weeks, during which time he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. His treating physician at that hospital testified that Everett’s condition was a “lifelong” illness. On his discharge on July 9, 1996, Everett was given prescriptions for antipsychotic medications, including Haldol and Cogentin. Following his discharge from Boumewood Hospital, Everett sought to return to work with the company. Consistent with Federal regulations governing the commercial trucking industry, the company required Everett to be medically evaluated to determine whether he remained physically and mentally qualified under DOT regulations to drive heavy commercial vehicles on the public roads. Dr. David M. Roston, a psychiatrist at Atlantic Health Group, conducted the evaluation. On July 18, 1996, based on his examination, Dr. Roston refused to issue Everett a medical examination certification of fitness to drive a commercial motor vehicle (DOT certificate) at that time. Dr. Roston also recommended to the company that Everett “undergo an independent psychiatric evaluation.” On September 26, 1996, at the company’s request and expense, Everett was evaluated by psychiatrist Dr. Roy Lubit. Using criteria established by the DOT, 49 C.F.R. § 391.41(b)(9), Dr. Lubit concluded that “I cannot certify this individual as healthy to drive.” Dr. Lubit stated that he had “discussed this issue with Dr. Roston who agrees.” Everett then sought an examination by a doctor of his own choosing, Dr. James R. Bieber. On January 25, 1997, Dr. Bieber evaluated Everett to determine whether “he is able to return to his job of driving a truck while on medication.” Dr. Bieber concluded that Everett “is able to return to the work of driving a truck,” noting, however, that Everett should be “carefully” monitored, and that either emotional or physical stress “could lead to another decompensation.” Dr. Bieber’s report made no reference to DOT qualification requirements. Dr. Roston reviewed Dr. Bieber’s report and the mental health qualification requirement of 49 C.F.R. § 391.41, and on February 14, 1997, reported to the company that, although Everett was responding well to his medications, “he has the risk of future psychotic episodes which could interfere with his ability to safely operate a truck.” In light of the requirements of the DOT regulations, he again declined to issue the DOT certificate. The company refused to permit Everett to return to work. In February, 1997, Everett, through his union, filed a grievance seeking reinstatement. In connection with the grievance, Everett and the company sought a mutually agreed-upon third-party medical evaluation of Everett by an expert, whom Everett’s business agent termed at trial “a neutral third party.” The parties agreed to have Dr. Lubit serve in that role. In a June 26, 1997, report that again cited DOT regulations, Dr. Lubit concluded: “I cannot state that [Everett’s] psychiatric problems will not be a problem. They are a continual risk to his driving and I would be unable to qualify him.” DOT regulations require drivers who wish to overturn adverse medical evaluations to appeal from the decision to the DOT. While the administrative appeal is pending, the driver is deemed not medically qualified to operate commercial motor vehicles. 49 C.F.R. § 391.47(f) (where driver and motor carrier disagree about medical certification, “the driver shall be deemed disqualified until such time as the [DOT] makes a determination” [emphasis added]). See Carolina Freight Carriers v. Pennsylvania Human Relations Comm’n, 99 Pa. Commw. 428, 436 (1986) (“where there is a conflict in the medical evidence a driver will remain unqualified until the federal government decides to the contrary” [emphasis in original]). Everett did not file an appeal with the DOT at any time to review the adverse conclusion of the mutually agreed-upon medical specialist, Dr. Lubit. He did, however, through his union, file a request to arbitrate his grievance. The arbitration panel dismissed Everett’s claim. On July 3, 1997, one week after Dr. Lubit had declined a second time to certify Everett as medically qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle, Everett filed a charge of discrimination with the MCAD, which also was filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). He asserted, among other things, that in June, 1996, he “went on a medical leave of absence,” that he was “well enough to return to work in July, 1996 but [the company] refused to allow me to return,” and that the company “has refused to return me to work because of my perceived disability, even though I am capable of performing the essential elements of my driver’s position.” On December 11, 1998, after an investigation, see 804 Code Mass. Regs. § 1.13(7) (1993); G. L. c. 151B, § 5, the MCAD issued a Lack of Probable Cause (LOPC) determination, and closed its investigation. At some point — no appeal date is indicated in the record — Everett administratively appealed from the LOPC determination; a hearing on his appeal was held on February 9, 1999. 804 Code Mass. Regs. § 1.15(7)(d) (1999). On May 4, 1999, the investigating commissioner affirmed the LOPC determination “[b]ased upon information presented at the appeal hearing and a review of the evidence adduced in investigation . . . .” b. The events of 1999. In the meantime, and notwithstanding that both Dr. Roston and Dr. Lubit had refused to certify him as medically qualified in conformity with DOT regulations to drive commercial motor vehicles, Everett drove heavy commercial trucks for other employers. To obtain these jobs, beginning in 1997, Everett acquired at least five DOT certificates from various physicians. At trial Everett testified that he did not disclose to any of the certifying physicians his previous psychiatric history either during any medical examinations or on the forms required for each examination. To the contrary, when asked directly, he informed each examining physician that he had “no” history of a psychiatric disorder. See note 8, supra. Before January 12, 1999, the company had no knowledge that Everett had acquired these DOT certificates and was driving commercial vehicles for other employers. On that date Everett initiated a second union grievance against the company, in which he sought “[t]o be put back to work as a driver” with “his seniority and lost wages and benefits since January 12, 1999 ” He asserted, through a union representative, that he had “new” evidence to support his request. The “new” evidence included, among other things, a personal affidavit, a driver’s road test, a seniority list from the company dated September 9, 1998, that included his name, Dr. Bieber’s evaluation of January 25, 1997, a letter from one employer stating that he had been qualified to serve as a “lead driver,” a physical examination form from another employer, several DOT certificates obtained since 1997, and an affidavit from a union doctor attesting that “it appears that Joe Everett is in remission” from his emotional problems and his “case appears to be one in which any disabilities he incurred are now resolved and he has returned to normal baseline functioning” sufficient to “resume” his duties with the company. The company raised as a “point of order” to the 1999 grievance that the issue of Everett’s medical qualification had been definitively resolved in the 1997 grievance, and that, based on the 1997 conclusions of Dr. Lubit and Dr. Roston, as upheld in the 1997 grievance proceeding, Everett was not DOT-certified to drive a commercial motor vehicle. The 1999 arbitration panel dismissed Everett’s grievance. See EEOC v. Allied Sys., Inc., 36 F. Supp. 2d 515, 522 (N.D.N.Y. 1999), quoting Campbell v. Federal Express Corp., 918 F. Supp. 912, 918 (D. Md. 1996) (motor carrier “not required to accept the determination of . . . a physician for one of [the motor carrier’s] competitors. ‘As a matter of law, [the motor carrier] was not bound to accede to determinations made by medical professionals retained by its competitors; [the motor carrier] was entitled to rely on the determinations made by its medical professionals’ ”). 2. Procedural background. We recount the procedural background in some detail, as befits the jurisdictional issue in this case. On February 11, 2000, approximately thirteen months after filing his second grievance and almost three years to the day from Dr. Roston’s final rejection of Everett’s DOT qualifications on February 14, 1997, Everett filed a complaint in the Superior Court. See G. L. c. 15IB, § 9 (establishing three-year statute of limitations for filing discrimination claims pursuant to G. L. c. 15IB). The allegations of the complaint are ambiguous. Everett specifically referenced discrimination by the company “[s]ince February 14, 1997,” the date of Dr. Roston’s letter reviewing and rejecting Dr. Bieber’s opinion that Everett was medically certified to drive commercial trucks; it also referred to the MCAD’s LOPC determination of December 11, 1998. The complaint alleged that the company “failed and refused to re-employ Everett” or to offer him reasonable accommodation “even in the face of Mr. Everett’s exemplary truck driving record with other companies” since February 14,1997. The Superior Court complaint did not allege that any act of discrimination had occurred in 1999, did not allege that in 1999 Everett had presented the company with “new” evidence about his mental health, and did not allege that the company had failed to rehire Everett in 1999 in the face of such “new” evidence or otherwise. The complaint included a generally worded request for damages as a “result of [the company’s] discriminatory actions.” Fairly read, the complaint alleged that Everett had not been returned to work by the company on February 14, 1997, that his complaints of discrimination had been investigated by the MCAD and their basis found lacking in probable cause, and that Everett nevertheless had suffered damages for the alleged wrongs encompassed within the MCAD investigation that had ended in 1998. There was no allegation that the company did or did not do anything on January 12, 1999, or thereafter. On July 31, 2000, the company moved to dismiss the complaint for failing to comply with the applicable statute of limitations, which period, the company argued, commenced in July, 1996, when Everett sought to return to work after his hospitalization. Everett opposed the motion. He argued that, while “it was not clear in July 1996 that [the company’s] refusal to allow Mr. Everett to return to work stemmed from a discriminatory animus,” such animus was evident by February 14, 1997, when the company’s refusal to reemploy him was based on a discriminatory perception that he was still mentally disabled. Thus, Everett continued, he had properly alleged a continuing violation, that “save[d]” what might otherwise have been the time-barred 1996 event. See Cuddyer v. Stop & Shop Supermarket Co., 434 Mass. 521, 531-532 (2001); 804 Code Mass. Regs. § 1.10(2) (1999) (describing continuing violation doctrine). Neither party mentioned any events in 1999, either in their memoranda or in their reply memoranda; the entire focus of the motion was whether the 1997 event anchored the 1996 event and brought it within the statute of limitations by way of the continuing violation doctrine. The company’s motion to dismiss was denied. After lengthy and acrimonious discovery disputes not material to our decision, in April, 2005, the case proceeded to trial. In the October, 2004, joint pretrial statement of expected evidence, Everett asserted that his theory of liability was that the company’s “continuing” refusal to allow him to return to work due to an “unjustified” perception that he still had a disability in “February, 1997 and thereafter” constituted discrimination in violation of the Massachusetts and Federal antidiscrimination statutes. At the commencement of, and continuing throughout, the trial, however, Everett took the position that the only issue for resolution by the jury involved events that had occurred in January, 1999. His theory of liability now rested on the fact that in January, 1999, he had submitted to the company (in connection with his second grievance) new evidence that he had been working safely as a DOT certified commercial truck driver for other companies since 1997, and that the company refused for discriminatory reasons to recognize his qualifications and to rehire him at that time. The company vigorous
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