Case: EEOC v. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina

5:98-cv-00978 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

Filed Date: Dec. 31, 1998

Closed Date: 1999

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Case Summary

The EEOC's Charlotte district office sued The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina and the Sacred Heart Cathedral on December 31, 1998 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The EEOC's complaint alleged that the defendant violated Title VII when it discriminated based on sex (female) by altering the conditions of a female music instructor's employment and ultimately retaliating against her for her discrimination complaint. The Catholic Church moved to dismiss in February 1999, for lack of subject matter jurisdiction (due to the ministerial exception), which was granted on April 30, 1999. See EEOC v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, 48 F.Supp.2d 505 (E.D.N.C. 1999).

The EEOC appealed this decision on June 23, 1999, but the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district Court's ruling on May 22, 2000. See EEOC v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, 213 F.3d 795 (4th Cir. 2000)

Summary Authors

Aaron Weismann (7/3/2007)

Documents in the Clearinghouse

	Document
5:98-cv-00978	Docket EEOC v. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, et al	July 31, 2000	July 31, 2000 Docket
5:98-cv-00978 99-01860	Docket [Court of Appeals] EEOC v. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, et al U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit	Oct. 26, 2000	Oct. 26, 2000 Docket
1 5:98-cv-00978	Complaint EEOC v. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, et al	Dec. 31, 1998	Dec. 31, 1998 Complaint
13 5:98-cv-00978	Order [Granting Defendant's Motion to Dismiss] EEOC v. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, et al	April 30, 1999	April 30, 1999 Order/Opinion 48 F.Supp.2d 505
5:98-cv-00978 99-01860	Opinion [Court of Appeals] EEOC v. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, et al U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit	May 22, 2000	May 22, 2000 Order/Opinion 213 F.3d 795

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Resources

Title	Description		External URL Date / External URL
Under the Radar: Visibility and the Effects of Discrimination Lawsuits in Small and Large Firms Carly Knight, Frank Dobbin, Alexandra Kalev	Research on how discrimination lawsuits affect corporate diversity has yielded mixed results. Qualitative studies highlight the limited efficacy of lawsuits in the typical workplace, finding that lit…	March 2022	April 1, 2022 https://cris.tau.ac.il/...

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Docket

Last updated March 27, 2025, 8:28 a.m.

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
1	Complaint filed - Employment discrimination, to wit, reassignment of duties, due to sex and demotion, inter alia, due to sex. JURY DEMAND. (ll) (Entered: 01/05/1999)	Dec. 31, 1998	Dec. 31, 1998 Clearinghouse
2	Waiver of Service Returned Unexecuted as to Roman Catholic Dioce, Sacred Heart Cathedral. (ll) (Entered: 01/05/1999)	Dec. 31, 1998	Dec. 31, 1998
3	Request for Waiver of Service as to Roman Catholic Dioce, Sacred Heart Cathedr (ll) (Entered: 01/05/1999)	Dec. 31, 1998	Dec. 31, 1998
	(ll) (Entered: 01/05/1999)	Dec. 31, 1998	Dec. 31, 1998
4	Waiver of Service Returned Executed as to Roman Catholic Dioce, Sacred Heart Cathedr 1/8/99 Answer due on 3/9/99 for Sacred Heart Cathedr, for Roman Catholic Dioce (dh) (Entered: 02/10/1999)	Feb. 8, 1999	Feb. 8, 1999
5	Motion by Roman Catholic Dioce, Sacred Heart Cathedr to dismiss , cs. (response due 3/21/99) (dh) (Entered: 03/03/1999)	Feb. 26, 1999	Feb. 26, 1999
6	Memorandum by Roman Catholic Dioce, Sacred Heart Cathedr in support of [5-1] motion to dismiss, cs. (dh) (Entered: 03/03/1999)	Feb. 26, 1999	Feb. 26, 1999
7	Affidavit of Very Reverand John Francis O'Connor (dh) (Entered: 03/03/1999)	Feb. 26, 1999	Feb. 26, 1999
8	Affidavit of Reverand Michael G. Clay, D.MIN. (dh) (Entered: 03/03/1999)	Feb. 26, 1999	Feb. 26, 1999
9	Memorandum by Equal Employment Opp in opposition to [5-1] motion to dismiss. w/cs. Reply due on 4/8/99. (ll) (Entered: 03/30/1999)	March 22, 1999	March 22, 1999
10	Affidavit of Joyce M. Austin by Equal Employment Opp Re: [9-1] opposition memorandum. (ll) (Entered: 03/30/1999)	March 22, 1999	March 22, 1999
11	Affidavit of Thomas Colclough by Equal Employment Opp Re: [9-1] opposition memorandum. (ll) (Entered: 03/30/1999)	March 22, 1999	March 22, 1999
12	Reply by Roman Catholic Dioce, Sacred Heart Cathedr to response to [5-1] motion to dismiss, cs. (dh) (Entered: 04/06/1999)	April 1, 1999	April 1, 1999
	Motion(s) submitted: [5-1] motion to dismiss submitted. CASE FILE TO JUDGE HOWARD FOR CONSIDERATION. (dh) (Entered: 04/06/1999)	April 6, 1999	April 6, 1999
	Plaintiff submitted an administrative substitution of page 12 of their Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss. (This corrects an error in footnote number 4 on page 12). (ll) (Entered: 04/20/1999)	April 20, 1999	April 20, 1999
13	Order granting [5-1] motion to dismiss. The Clerk is directed to close this case. cys served. signed by Malcolm J. Howard, US Judge. OB Ref: CIV OB# 60, P-43 (dh) (Entered: 04/30/1999)	April 30, 1999	April 30, 1999 Clearinghouse
14	Judgment for Roman Catholic Dioce, Sacred Heart Cathedr against Equal Employment Opp. IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED defendants' motion to dismiss is granted and this case is closed. cys served. signed by David W. Daniel, Clerk. OB Ref: CIV OB# 60, P-44 (dh) (Entered: 04/30/1999)	April 30, 1999	April 30, 1999
	Case closed. Non-Permanent. (dh) (Entered: 04/30/1999)	April 30, 1999	April 30, 1999
15	Notice of appeal by Equal Employment Opp (rp) (Entered: 06/25/1999)	June 23, 1999	June 23, 1999
	Notice of Appellate Action to USCA and counsel re: [15-1] appeal by Equal Employment Opp Appeal Pkg. mailed consisting of Dkting Statement, Transm. Sheet and Index (rp) (Entered: 06/25/1999)	June 25, 1999	June 25, 1999
	Case submitted to: Appeal Clerk [15-1] appeal submitted. (ll) (Entered: 06/25/1999)	June 25, 1999	June 25, 1999
	Notice of Docketing ROA from USCA Re: [15-1] appeal by Equal Employment Opp USCA NUMBER: 99-1860 Case Manager: Merlene Smith-Taylor (rp) (Entered: 07/06/1999)	July 6, 1999	July 6, 1999
	Certificate to USCA and counsel re: [15-1] appeal certifying that the record in this case is complete for purposes of the appeal. Cy. to Judge (rp) (Entered: 08/11/1999)	Aug. 11, 1999	Aug. 11, 1999
16	Opinion from USCA Re: [15-1] appeal - AFFIRMED (rp) (Entered: 05/30/2000)	May 24, 2000	May 24, 2000
	THE MANDATE IN THIS CASE WILL NOT ISSUE AT THE SCHEDULED TIME BECAUSE A TIMELY PETITION FOR REHEARING AND REHEARING EN BANC HAS BEEN FILED (rp) (Entered: 06/27/2000)	June 27, 2000	June 27, 2000
17	Order IT IS ORDERED THAT THE PETITION FOR REHEARING AND REHEARING EN BANC IS DENIED signed by Patricia S. Connor. (rp) (Entered: 07/26/2000)	July 26, 2000	July 26, 2000
18	Certified copy of judgment of USCA Re: [15-1] appeal - affirmed (rp) (Entered: 07/31/2000)	July 31, 2000	July 31, 2000
	**Remove appeal flag - no further appeals pending (rp) (Entered: 07/31/2000)	July 31, 2000	July 31, 2000

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Case Details

State / Territory:

North Carolina

Case Type(s):

Equal Employment

Special Collection(s):

EEOC Study — in sample

Multi-LexSum (in sample)

Key Dates

Filing Date: Dec. 31, 1998

Closing Date: 1999

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on behalf of one or more workers.

Plaintiff Type(s):

EEOC Plaintiff

Attorney Organizations:

EEOC

Public Interest Lawyer: Yes

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

Private Entity/Person

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina

Case Details

Causes of Action:

Title VII (including PDA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e

Other Dockets:

Eastern District of North Carolina 5:98-cv-00978

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit 99-01860

Available Documents:

Any published opinion

Complaint (any)

Trial Court Docket

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Defendant

Relief Granted:

None

Source of Relief:

None

Issues

General/Misc.:

Retaliation

Discrimination Area:

Conditions of Employment (including assignment, transfer, hours, working conditions, etc.)

Demotion

Discipline

Disparate Treatment

Discrimination Basis:

Sex discrimination

Affected Sex/Gender(s):

Female

EEOC-centric:

Direct Suit on Merits

Recommended Citation

Case Summary of EEOC v. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/8957/ (last updated 7/3/2007).