Joseph v. Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health
- Nelson Roman
- 7:20-cv-00420
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 13
In Joseph v. Westchester County, Judge Roman dismissed some claims, allowed others to proceed, and gave Joseph 45 days to amend.
Thomas T. Joseph’s claims against DCMH were dismissed. His New York State Human Rights Law claims, New York City Human Rights Law claims, and Title VII claims against Thomas S. Poovappallil were dismissed without prejudice to amendment within 45 days. The claims proceeding against Westchester County and any remaining claims against Poovappallil were subject to service within 90 days.
What happened
In Joseph v. Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health, Thomas T. Joseph sued his former employer, Westchester County, and former supervisor Thomas S. Poovappallil under federal and New York employment-discrimination laws, disability law, and family-leave law. Joseph represented himself.
The court dismissed the claims against the Department of Community Mental Health because it was a county agency without a separate legal identity. It also dismissed the New York State Human Rights Law claims, the New York City Human Rights Law claims, and the Title VII claims against Poovappallil without prejudice to filing an amended complaint within 45 days. The court directed that summonses be issued for Westchester County and Poovappallil, allowing the remaining claims to proceed for service.
Judge Nelson S. Roman ruled that Joseph’s State Human Rights Law claims were barred because he had previously filed the same allegations with the state human-rights agency, that the City Human Rights Law did not apply to conduct alleged to have occurred outside New York City, and that Title VII does not impose liability on individual defendants. The court also required service within 90 days and denied fee-free appeal status.
The detailed version
- Joseph v. Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health · No. 7:20-cv-00420
- Nelson Roman
- May 19, 2020
Background
Thomas T. Joseph, proceeding without a lawyer, asserted claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law. He sought damages and injunctive relief from his former employer, the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH), the County of Westchester, and his former supervisor, Thomas S. Poovappallil.
The court treated the filing as an order of service and partial dismissal. Although Joseph had paid the filing fees, the court explained that it could dismiss claims for certain threshold reasons, including lack of subject-matter jurisdiction or failure to state a legally sufficient claim. It also stated that filings by people without lawyers must be read liberally.
Department of Community Mental Health
The court dismissed Joseph’s claims against DCMH under Rule 21 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 21 permits a court to add or drop a party. Applying New York law, the court concluded that DCMH was an agency and administrative arm of Westchester County, not an entity with a separate legal identity that could be sued. Because Westchester County was already a named defendant, the court dismissed the claims against DCMH. The order did not state that this dismissal was with or without prejudice.
New York State Human Rights Law
The court dismissed Joseph’s claims under the New York State Human Rights Law. Joseph had attached a determination from the New York State Division of Human Rights concerning his discrimination complaint against Westchester County. The court found that the agency complaint involved the same alleged discrimination during Joseph’s County employment, including his termination, that he alleged in federal court. The agency had found no probable cause to believe that the County unlawfully discriminated against him.
The court held that Joseph’s use of the state administrative process barred him from bringing the same claims in federal court. It characterized this bar as jurisdictional and dismissed the claims under the federal rule governing lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The dismissal was without prejudice to Joseph filing an amended complaint within 45 days, although the order stated that failure to amend would result in dismissal of those claims for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
New York City Human Rights Law
The court dismissed Joseph’s claims under the New York City Human Rights Law, without prejudice to amendment within 45 days. The court explained that the statute does not apply to discriminatory conduct occurring outside New York City. Joseph alleged that the conduct occurred at DCMH in Westchester County, outside New York City. If Joseph did not timely amend, the court stated that it would dismiss these claims for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted.
Title VII claims against Poovappallil
The court dismissed Joseph’s Title VII claims against Poovappallil, without prejudice to amendment within 45 days. It relied on the rule that Title VII does not impose liability on individual defendants. If Joseph did not timely amend, the court stated that it would dismiss these claims for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted.
Service and other directions
The court directed the Clerk of Court to issue summonses for Westchester County and Poovappallil. Joseph was directed to serve those defendants with the summonses and complaint within 90 days after the summonses were issued. The court stated that it could dismiss the remaining claims against those defendants under the federal rules concerning service and failure to prosecute if Joseph did not complete service or request an extension.
The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Joseph permission to appeal without prepaying fees. Judge Nelson S. Roman signed the order on May 19, 2020.
Read the full 13-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.