Samuel J. Primas v. The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, d/b/a Good Samaritan Society Scandia Village

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin denied Defendant’s motion to dismiss Samuel J. Primas’s Title VII action as untimely. The court found that the record was unclear regarding when Primas received sufficient notice that the EEOC had closed its investigation and triggered the ninety-day filing period. The court directed the Clerk to schedule a telephone scheduling conference and noted that the timeliness issue might be resolved through streamlined summary judgment proceedings.

Holdings

1. The Title VII ninety-day filing period begins when the claimant receives notice that the EEOC has issued or closed the right-to-sue matter, not necessarily when the claimant reads or can access the right-to-sue letter; however, some legally sufficient notice to the claimant is required.
2. Dismissal was not warranted because the record did not establish when the plaintiff first received legally sufficient notice triggering the ninety-day period.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the plaintiff's Title VII action was untimely because it was filed more than ninety days after issuance or receipt of the EEOC right-to-sue notice.
2. Whether the existing record established when the plaintiff received sufficient notice to trigger Title VII's ninety-day filing period.
3. Whether dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) was appropriate when the record was unclear regarding the triggering notice.

Disposition

other