Preview:

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND CHARLES RAWLINGS : Plaintiff : v : CITY OF BALTIMORE, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL, DEPT. OF PUBLIC WORKS Defendant o0o MEMORANDUM : : Civil Case No. L-10-2077

This is an employment discrimination case. The Plaintiff, Charles Rawlings, brings suit pro se against the Mayor and City Council of the City of Baltimore ("the City"),1 alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Now pending are the City's Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 5) and Rawlings's Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint (Docket No. 14). The Court has reviewed the papers, and no hearing is deemed necessary. See Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md. 2010). For the reasons stated herein, the Court will GRANT the City's Motion to Dismiss, and DENY Rawlings's Motion to Amend.

As the City properly points out, the action is nominally brought against "City of Baltimore Mayor and the City Council Dept. of Public Works," which is not a legal entity subject to suit. The Court will construe the Complaint as naming the proper entity, the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, which is a municipal corporation that may sue and be sued.

1

1

I.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND Rawlings, an African American, claims a long history of discrimination and failure to

accommodate during his 17-year employment with the Baltimore City Department of Public Works, culminating with his termination on May 11, 2006. He alleges that he and others similarly situated were subject to racial abuse and ridicule, and were passed over for job training, reassignment, and promotion in favor of white co-workers. He also alleges that the City assigned him to a laborer's position notwithstanding his qualification for more highly skilled posts and the fact that a prior injury left him unable to perform heavy manual labor. According to Rawlings, this unfitness for duty was the proffered basis for the City's eventual decision to fire him. The Complaint indicates that Rawlings filed a charge with the EEOC on March 30, 2007 and received a right-to-sue letter on April 6, 2010. On July 28, 2010, Rawlings instituted suit in this Court, claiming violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. On October 6, 2010, the City filed the instant Motion to Dismiss or, in the alternative, for Summary Judgment. On November 24, 2010, Rawlings responded to the City's Motion and also filed a Motion seeking leave to amend his Complaint. The Amended Complaint would "add counts for racial discrimination and violations of equal protection and due process in pay, promotions, job training and reassignment, and termination, under 42 USC 1981, 1983 and 1985, and intentional infliction of mental [sic]." Pl.'s Mt. to Amend 1

Download Charles Rawlings v. City of Baltimore, Mayor and City Council, Dept. of Public W

Maryland Law