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Harrison County Board of Ed. v. Carson

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS OF WEST VIRGINIA
September 1995 Term
No. 22735
HARRISON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION,
A PUBLIC CORPORATION,
Plaintiff Below, Appellee

v.
PAMELA CARSON-LEGGETT AND WEST VIRGINIA HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, Defendants Below, Appellants
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Kanawha County Honorable Irene C. Berger, Judge Civil Action No. 93-C-94
REVERSED ___________________________________________________
Submitted: September 20, 1995             Filed: December 8, 1995
Barbara Evans Fleischauer Morgantown, West Virginia Delby B. Pool Clarksburg, West Virginia Attorneys for the Appellant Pamela S. Carson-Leggett
Darrell V. McGraw, Jr. Attorney General Paul R. Sheridan Senior Assistant Attorney General Charleston, West Virginia Attorneys for the Appellant West Virginia Human Rights Commission
Basil R. Legg, Jr. David J. Romano Law Offices of David J. Romano Clarksburg, West Virginia
Attorneys for the Appellee
Harrison County Board of Education

This Opinion was delivered PER CURIAM.

JUSTICE ALBRIGHT did not participate.
RETIRED JUSTICE MILLER sitting by temporary assignment. SYLLABUS BY THE COURT

        "A civil action filed under the West Virginia Human Rights Act, W. Va. Code, 5-11-1, et seq., is not precluded by a prior grievance decided by the West Virginia Education and State Employees Grievance Board arising out of the same facts and circumstances." Syl. pt. 3, Vest v. Board of Education of the County of Nicholas, 193 W. Va. 222, 455 S.E.2d 781 (1995). Per Curiam:
        This action is before this Court upon the joint petition of Pamela S. Carson- Leggett and the West Virginia Human Rights Commission for an appeal from the final order of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia. As reflected in that order, entered on July 21, 1994, the circuit court ruled that Ms. Carson-Leggett (hereinafter the "appellant") was barred by res judicata and collateral estoppel from pursuing her sex discrimination claims against the appellee, the Harrison County Board of Education. In particular, the circuit court determined that the claims could not be pursued before the West Virginia Human Rights Commission (hereinafter the "Human Rights Commission") since those claims had been litigated by the appellant before the West Virginia Education and State Employees Grievance Board.
        For review of this controversy, this Court has before it all matters of record and the briefs and argument of counsel. In light of our recent opinion in Vest v. Board of Education of the County of Nicholas, 193 W. Va. 222, 455 S.E.2d 781 (1995), we reverse. I
        In 1970, the appellant was hired as a teacher by the Harrison County Board of Education, and, later, the appellant obtained a master's degree in Secondary Administration. In 1984, the Harrison County Board of Education awarded the appellant the administrative position of assistant principal of South Harrison High School. However, in 1989, as a result of budget limitations and a decline in student enrollment, the appellant was reassigned to teaching.
        Soon after the appellant's reassignment, several principal and assistant principal positions became available with regard to South Harrison High School, Roosevelt-Wilson High School and Salem Junior High School. The appellant applied for those positions but was not hired. With the exception of one female, the Harrison County Board of Education selected males for the positions.
        As a result of her failure to receive an administrative position with the Harrison County Board of Education after her 1989 reassignment, the appellant filed a number of grievances with the West Virginia Education and State Employees Grievance Board. W. Va. Code, 29-6A-1 [1988], et seq. Specifically, the record indicates that, from 1989 through 1992, a total of seven grievances were filed, each of which involved issues of sex discrimination.See footnote 1 Nevertheless, each grievance resulted in a decision adverse to the appellant.See footnote 2
        In addition, the appellant, in 1989, filed two administrative complaints against the Harrison County Board of Education with the Human Rights Commission. W. Va. Code, 5-11-1 [1967], et seq. Those complaints are the subject of this appeal and also concern sex discrimination. The first complaint, No. ES-20-90, alleged that the Harrison County Board failed to appoint the appellant to various administrative positions because of sex discrimination. Specifically, the complaint alleged that the appellant lost seniority with the Harrison County Board because of prior acts of discrimination, and, since that time, less qualified males, with less seniority, had been selected for the positions. The second complaint, No. REP-103-90, alleged that the Harrison County Board engaged in acts of reprisal against the appellant because she filed the first complaint, No. ES-20-90. Sex discrimination in employment, and reprisals for seeking redress therefor under The West Virginia Human Rights Act, are, of course, unlawful. W. Va. Code, 5-11-9 [1992].
        As the parties state, the Human Rights Commission conducted an investigation and found probable cause substantiating the appellant's two complaints. Moreover, the Human Rights Commission rejected the assertion of the Harrison County Board that, because of the proceedings before the West Virginia Education and State Employees Grievance Board, the two complaints were barred by res judicata and collateral estoppel.
        In January 1993, the Harrison County Board of Education filed a complaint for injunctive relief in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, again advancing the issues of res judicata and collateral estoppel. Specifically, the complaint indicated that the Human Rights Commission was "without jurisdiction" to proceed upon complaints ES-20

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