Summary
This Report and Recommendation addresses Blue Dot Readi Mix’s motion for summary judgment in Terry L. McCoy’s Title VII, ADEA, and South Carolina Human Affairs Law discrimination action. The court recommends granting summary judgment because McCoy filed his federal and state claims outside the applicable limitations periods. The recommendation does not address the defendant’s alternative grounds for summary judgment.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether summary judgment should be granted because McCoy's Title VII and ADEA claims were filed more than ninety days after the presumed receipt of the EEOC right-to-sue notice.
- Whether summary judgment should be granted because McCoy's South Carolina Human Affairs Law claims were filed outside the applicable one-year and 120-day statutory deadlines.
- Whether the record supported equitable tolling of any applicable filing period.
Holdings
- Title VII and ADEA claims are time barred when the civil action is not filed within ninety days after the plaintiff is given the EEOC right-to-sue notice. Because the actual receipt date was unknown, receipt was presumed three days after mailing, and McCoy filed more than nine months after the presumed receipt date.
- McCoy's state-law discrimination claims were time barred because he filed more than one year after the alleged violation and more than 120 days after dismissal of his administrative charge, exceeding both applicable statutory deadlines.
- The record did not support equitable tolling of the filing periods because McCoy offered no justification for his failure to comply with the statutory deadlines.
Key quotations
“Summary judgment is appropriate only if the moving party “shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the [moving party] is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.””
“Accordingly, the defendant has shown as a matter of law that Plaintiff’s claims are time barred.”
“Accordingly, the defendant’s motion for summary judgment should be granted, as all of Plaintiffs claims are time barred.”
Factual background
McCoy alleged that his former employer discriminated against him based on race and age under Title VII, the ADEA, and the South Carolina Human Affairs Law. The alleged discriminatory acts occurred between May 11, 2023, and August 14, 2023. The EEOC issued a right-to-sue notice on September 4, 2024, and the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission dismissed McCoy's charge on August 14, 2024. McCoy filed suit on June 20, 2025, more than ninety days after the presumed receipt of the EEOC notice and outside the applicable state-law limitations periods.
Procedural history
McCoy filed the action in the York County Court of Common Pleas on June 20, 2025, asserting federal Title VII and ADEA claims and state-law race and age discrimination claims. Blue Dot Readi Mix removed the case to the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina on July 29, 2025, and moved for summary judgment. After providing the pro se plaintiff notice under Roseboro v. Garrison, the court considered McCoy's opposition and the defendant's reply and recommended granting summary judgment on limitations grounds.