Case 42: Dr. Stanley Dea vs. Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission |
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Dr.
Stanley Dea was the highest ranking Asian American at the Washington Suburban Sanitary
Commission. He REFUSED to make race or gender based promotions. He was
punished. Web Posted Nov. 4, 2004 |
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The late Dr. Dea would have none of it. He refused to comply with the WSSC's unwritten policy of preferring minorities and women over better-qualified individuals.
The general manager intended to send a strong signal throughout the WSSC workforce that his race and gender preference edicts were to be obeyed - or else! Dr. Dea received the message loud and clear. He knew that if he ever again refused to discriminate against white males in a promotion or hiring decision he would pay a high price. Subsequently, that is exactly what happened when, in 1990, Stan Dea again refused to recommend a less-qualified woman for another important promotion, and instead recommended the best qualified person for the position, who also happened to be a white male. WSSC management retaliated against Dr. Dea by demoting him to a dead-end, non-supervisory job. Management called it a "transfer". Washington, D.C. attorney Doug Herbert and the DC-based advocacy group, Institute for Justice, filed Dr. Stan Dea's Title VII retaliation claim in federal court in 1993 and, after extensive discovery, filed for summary judgment because the facts clearly showed that it was Stan's good faith belief that he was opposing an unlawful practice that led to his demotion. After extendsive delays, the trial court denied the motion and a three-day trial ensued, at which D.C. attorney Doug Herbert demolished WSSC's defense. Another lengthy delay followed, ending only when the presiding judge, U.S. District Judge Deborah Chasanow, ruled in favor of WSSC by distorting the facts. After this bizarre decision by the court, plaintiff Stan Dea authorized his attorneys to file an appeal to the Fourth Circuit, but shortly thereafter he succumbed to liver disease. According to his attorneys, Stan Dea remained optimistic to the end that his faith in equal treatment for all -- regardless of race or gender -- would be vindicated. Following Dr. Dea's death, his estate agreed to continue the appeal, and attorney Doug Herbert prosecuted it with great vigor. According to the Institute for Justice, after bizarre delays in finalizing the record, on October 29, 1998 attorney Herbert filed a devastating brief on Stan's behalf, followed by an incisive oral argument that left WSSC's defense counsel reeling. Stan Dea's lawyers were confident of victory, despite the daunting burden of overcoming the lower court judge's erroneous factual findings. However, while the appellate court's decision was pending, one of the three judges on the panel died, further delaying justice for Stan Dea. Finally, on June 15, 2001 the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Stanley Dea's favor. In a 21-page decision [See Fourth Circuit Opinion 06-15-01] the appellate court ripped apart lower court Judge Chasanow's decision, finding that her crucial factual determinations were clearly erroneous, so much so that the appellate court took the highly unusual step of declining to return the case to Judge Chasanow for retrial, instead finding that the record allowed no other conclusion than that WSSC had unlawfully retaliated against Stan Dea. The court remanded the case to Judge Chasanow's court for determination of damages only. Thus, nearly eight years after the complaint was filed in 1993, the perseverance of Stan Dea, of his estate, and of attorney Doug Herbert was finally rewarded. Stan Dea's courage and willingness to take a stand on principle, and attorney Doug Herbert's refusal to give up in the face of crushing disappointment and misfortune, have finally received from the Fourth Circuit the recognition they so richly deserve.
Adversity.Net thanks the Institute for Justice for the source materials upon which this report is based.
Related Case Study -- Incredibly, in February 2004 the WSSC commissioners could not find a "preferred minority" to supply a critical water purification chemical so they refused to buy any! They came within two weeks of having to issue a boiled water alert to their 1.6 million customers. WSSC risked the health and safety of 1.6 million customers for the sake of racial quotas. At the last minute, higher authorities intervened and issued a waiver from the racial quota requirement, allowing them to buy the chemical from a white-owned supplier. This is a Must
Read Story!
The complete text of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision June 15, 2001 can be viewed on the following page: http://adversity.net/42_4_Court_Ruling_Dea_versus_WSSC.htm
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END CASE 42: Dr. Stanley Dea vs. Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
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