Tiffany Potter v. Douglas A. Collins

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Arizona granted the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ motion for summary judgment in Tiffany Potter’s Title VII action. The court held that Potter could not selectively relitigate the constructive-discharge theory after receiving administrative relief and could proceed only through an enforcement action or a comprehensive de novo action. The court also denied any attempt to expand the case through summary-judgment briefing and directed the Clerk to enter judgment and close the case.

Holdings

1. A federal employee who brings a civil action after an EEOC decision must either accept the administrative disposition in its entirety through an enforcement action or bring a de novo action placing the entire administrative disposition at issue; the employee may not accept favorable administrative relief while selectively relitigating only an unfavorable portion.
2. A plaintiff may not raise a new claim or theory of liability for the first time in opposition to a motion for summary judgment.
3. After the scheduling-order deadline to amend has expired, a party must show good cause under Rule 16(b)(4) and excusable neglect under Rule 6(b)(1)(B), and a late amendment may be denied where the facts and theory were known earlier and amendment would prejudice the opposing party.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Potter could maintain a district-court action selectively challenging only the constructive-discharge portion of an EEOC administrative disposition while retaining the favorable portions of that disposition.
2. Whether Potter could expand the action through summary-judgment briefing to seek de novo review of the underlying discrimination, retaliation, hostile-work-environment, and remedy determinations.
3. Whether the Secretary was entitled to summary judgment because Potter's selective challenge was legally foreclosed and no genuine dispute of material fact remained.

Disposition

other