On October 23, 1996 the plaintiff filed suit against the defendant and others in their capacities as members of the Board of Directors of the School District 15, Dupage County and the School District alleging violations Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §1981, 42 U.S.C. §1983, and the Fourteenth Amendment. The plaintiff had applied for a teaching position in the school district in 1995 but was denied an interview by the screening committee. She specifically alleged that she had been discriminated against because she was black and that an all-white screening committee had recommended interviews for only white candidates and hired only white candidates. She claimed that the defendants had engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination against black applicants that resulted in disparate treatment. She also claimed that hiring policies led to a disparate impact on black applicants.

On November 20, 1997 the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Judge Ann Claire Williams) granted the defendants' motion to dismiss on the grounds that the plaintiff's complaint violated Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure by being lengthy, repetitious, and confusing and that her claims were insufficiently plead and violated rule 12(b)(6). The plaintiff then appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and on August 31, 1998 the Court of Appeals (Judge Bauer, Judge Wood, and Judge Easterbrook) vacated the district court's ruling and remanded the case for further proceedings.

The parties thereafter pursued discovery and on July 13, 2000 the district court (Judge Charles P. Kocoras) granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment. The plaintiff again appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and on December 29, 2000 the parties reached an unknown settlement agreement at a prehearing conference.

Michael Perry - 09/09/2010


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