On September 20, 2000, a group of African-American employees filed a class action suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., 42 U.S.C. § 1981 against the Baltimore Gas & Electric Company in United States District Court of the District of Maryland. The plaintiffs represented by private counsel asked the Court for injunctive relief and compensatory relief and punitive damages alleging systemic discrimination and harassment. Specifically, the plaintiffs contended that the nuclear power plant had racially motivated discrimination practices in its selection, transfer, testing, performance evaluation, compensation, and discipline policies, practices, and procedures, as well a hostile work environment. Several of the named plaintiffs also sought individual damages for retaliatory actions taken against them by the defendant.

On August 1, 2001, the Court (Judge Blake) handed down three orders. First, the Court denied the plaintiff's motion for leave to file an amended complaint. The plaintiffs originally sought class-wide compensatory and punitive damages, however, they proposed to revise this claim to seek only injunctive and declaratory relief on a class-wide basis. The Court denied this motion because without seeking compensatory and punitive damages as a class, class certification would become a highly complex issue. The Court desired that the plaintiffs attempt first to seek the original class certification and to file an amended complaint only if their motion was denied. Miller v. Baltimore Gas, 202 F.R.D. 208 (D.C.M.D. 2001).

The second order denied the defendant's motion for the plaintiffs to file an amended complaint that did not seek class certification. The Court (Judge Blake) believed there was enough evidence to possibly certify a class, and thus, the defendant's motion was denied. Miller v. Baltimore Gas, 202 F.R.D. 208 (D.C.M.D. 2001).

The third order of the day denied the defendant's motion for partial summary judgment. The Court (Judge Blake) believed the class action had merit, and wanted to let the litigation proceed. Miller v. Baltimore Gas, 202 F.R.D. 208 (D.C.M.D. 2001).

The class was never actually certified because on July 22, 2005, a consent decree was reached and was signed and ordered by the Court (Judge Blake). The settlement awarded $650,000 thousand to each of the eight named plaintiffs, $2 million in attorneys fees, and the rest was dispersed among other class members and diversity programs at the company. However, on September 18, 2006, the plaintiffs filed a motion for sanctions against the defendant for violating the consent decree. After more proceedings, a revised decree was reached. On January 31, 2007, a proposed consent decree was signed and ordered by the Court (Judge Blake). The case was closed on March 7, 2007.

Matthew Aibel - 04/20/2008


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