Wojcik v. Crown Castle USA, Inc.

Filing 9

MEMORANDUM Order: For the reasons stated in this memorandum order, defendant's Affirmative Defense 1 is stricken as insufficient in law, while Complaint paragraph 10 remains in Wojcik's pleading. Signed by the Honorable Milton I. Shadur on 1/9/2017:Mailed notice(clw, )

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION TERESA WOJCIK, Plaintiff, v. CROWN CASTLE USA, INC., a Pennsylvania Corporation, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No. 16 C 10452 MEMORANDUM ORDER Crown Castle USA, Inc. ("Crown Castle") has just filed its Answer and Affirmative Defenses ("ADs") to the Title VII action brought against it by its ex-employee Teresa Wojcik ("Wojcik"). This brief memorandum order is issued sua sponte to address this AD 1 advanced by Crown Castle: To the extent that Count I complains of discrete acts of gender discrimination occurring outside the 180-day charge filing period for filing a Title VII claim, such acts are untimely and not actionable. That AD obviously targets Complaint ¶ 10, which narrates a course of disparate treatment to which Wojcik was assertedly subjected throughout her employment with Crown Castle (Complaint ¶ 8, which has been admitted by Crown Castle, alleges that Wojcik "was the only female construction manager when she was hired and throughout her employment"). What AD 1 fails to recognize is that discriminatory acts that are not separately actionable because they are outside the statutory period for filing a Title VII claim are still appropriate for a plaintiff's pleading because they may be relevant for evidentiary purposes (for example, by being probative as to a discriminatory mindset on the part of an employer). Hence AD 1 is stricken as insufficient in law, while Complaint ¶ 10 remains in Wojcik's pleading. __________________________________________ Milton I. Shadur Senior United States District Judge Date: January 9, 2017 -2-

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