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Brief Collection, LDF Court Filings. Patterson v. McLean Credit Union Brief of Plaintiff-Appellant, 1990. 54ad32a6-c09a-ee11-be36-6045bdeb8873. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/49313512-cd64-4b37-a738-40f97f8fa481/patterson-v-mclean-credit-union-brief-of-plaintiff-appellant. Accessed August 19, 2025.
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UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 90-1729 BRENDA PATTERSON, Plaintiff-Appellant. v. McLEAN CREDIT UNION, Defendant-Appellee. On Appeal from the United States District Court For the Middle District of North Carolina 0 BRIEF OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT HAROLD LILLARD KENNEDY, III HARVEY LEROY KENNEDY, SR. Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy & Kennedy 710 First Union Building Winston-Salem, NC 27101 (919) 724-9207 SHEILA Y. THOMAS NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. 1275 K Street, N.W. Suite 301 Washington, D.C. 20005 (202) 682-1300 JULIUS L. CHAMBERS CORNELIA T.L. PILLARD NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. 99 Hudson Street 16th Floor New York, NY 10013 (212) 219-1900 f TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES.......................................... ii ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW ................................ 1 STANDARDS OF REVIEW ......................................... 3 STATEMENT OF THE C A S E ....................................... 3 Nature of the C a s e .................................... 3 Course of Proceedings ................................ 3 District Court Opinions .............................. 8 STATEMENT OF THE F A C T S ....................................... 10 SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT........................................... 14 A R G U M E N T ..................................................... 16 THE DISTRICT COURT ERRED IN DISMISSING PLAINTIFF'S PROMOTION CLAIM SUA SPONTE. WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE TO PLAINTIFF AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT A MEMORANDUM ON THE CONTINUED VIABILITY OF THAT CLAIM ............... 16 THE DISTRICT COURT INCORRECTLY CONSTRUED THE "NEW AND DISTINCT RELATION" STANDARD ........... 20 The District Court Disregarded This Court's Recent Interpretation of the "New and Distinct Relation" S t andard.........................................2 0 The District Court Did Not Consider All Of the Relevant Factors When It Dismissed Mrs. Patterson's Claims .............................. 23 II. A. B. III. THE DISTRICT COURT IMPROPERLY USURPED THE ROLE OF THE JURY BY MAKING FACTUAL FINDINGS . . . . 24 IV. EVEN IF THE EVIDENCE IN THE RECORD WERE INSUFFICIENT TO RAISE A JURY ISSUE, PLAINTIFF WOULD BE ENTITLED TO CONDUCT DISCOVERY REGARDING WHETHER THE PROMOTION SHE SOUGHT WOULD HAVE PLACED HER IN A "NEW AND DISTINCT RELATION" WITH MCLEAN............................ 2 8 V. THE DISTRICT COURT'S DENIAL OF MRS. PATTERSON'S MOTION TO REOPEN THE JUDGMENT IS AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION......................................... 31 CONCLUSION.................................................4 0 l TABLE OF AUTHORITIES CASES Anderson v. Liberty Lobby. 477 U.S. 202 (1986) ............................ Bibbs v. Jim Lynch Cadillac. Inc.. 653 F.2d 316 (8th Cir. 1981) .................... Bovce v. Alizaduh. 595 F.2d 948 (4th Cir. 1979) .................... Brown v. Burlington Industries. Inc., 93 N.C. App. 431, 378 S.E.2d 232 (1989) . . 10, 34, Brown v. Gaston County Dyeing Machine Co.. 457 F.2d 1377 (4th Cir. 1972) .................... Clinton Community Hospital Corp. v. Southern Maryland Medical Center, 374 F. Supp. 450 (D.C. Md. 1974) ................ Compton v. Alton Steamship Co.. 608 F. 2d 96 (4th Cir. 1 9 7 9 ) .................... 38, Council of Federated Organization v. Mize. 339 F.2d 898 (5th Cir. 1964) .................... Crader v. Concordia College. 724 F. Supp. 558 (N.D. 111. 1989) ................ Dickens v. Purvear. 302 N.C. 437, 276 S.E.2d 325 (1981) . . . . 31, Dixon v. Stuart. 85 N.C. App. 338, 354 S.E.2d 757 (1987) . 10, 32, 33, Dougherty v. Harper's Magazine Co.. 537 F.2d 758 (3rd Cir. 1976) .................... EEOC v. Baltimore and O.R.R.. 557 F. Supp. 1112 (D.C. Md. 1983) ................ Edwards v. Boeing Vertol Co.. 717 F.2d 761 (3rd Cir. 1983), vacated on other grounds. 468 U.S. 1201 (1984) ........................ Franklin v. State of Oregon. State Welfare Division. 662 F.2d 1337 (9th Cir. 1981) 26 25 16 35 29 18 39 17 18 33 34 17 37 25 17, 19 t Hogan v. Forsyth Country Club. 79 N.C. App. 483, 340 S.E.2d 116 (1986) . . 10, 31, 32 Hudgens v. Harper-Grace Hospital. 728 F. Supp. 1321 (E.D. Mich. 1990) . . . . 24 Jefferson Fourteenth Associate v. Wometco de Puerto Rico. 695 F. 2d 524 (11th Cir. 1 9 8 3 ) .................... 17 Johnson v. Baskerville. 568 F. Supp. 853 (E.D. Va. 1 9 8 3 ) ................ 17 Jordan v. Campbell-Taggart, Inc.. Civil Action No. 87-3595 slip op. (4th Cir. April 17, 1990) . . . . . Kim v. Coppin State College. 662 F.2d 1955 (4th Cir. 1981) . . . . Lewis v. State of New York, 547 F.2d 4 (2d Cir. 1976) ................ Literature v. Quinn. 482 F.2d 372 (1st Cir. 1973) . . . . Luna v. City and County of Denver. 718 F. Supp. 854 (D. Colo. 1989) Lytle v. Household Manufacturing Co.. 110 S. Ct. 1331 (1990) .................... Mallory v. Booth Refrigeration Supply Co., Inc.. 882 F.2d 908 (4th Cir. 1989) . . . . Miller v. Shawmut Bank of Boston, 726 F. Supp. 337 (D. Mass. 1989) Miller v. Swissre Holding Co.. Inc.. 731 F. Supp. 129 (S.D.N.Y. 1990) Munz v. Parr. 758 F.2d 1254 (8th Cir. 1985) . . . . Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. 109 S. Ct. 2363 (1989) .................... 35 19, 25 20 17 24 25 14, 21 24 19 17 passim Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. 887 F.2d 484 (4th Cir. 1989) 8 Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. 805 F.2d 1143 (4th Cir. 1986) . . . . 6, 29, 31, 32 ill t Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. No. C—84—73—WS, slip op. (M.D.N.C. Mar. 14, 1985) . 4 Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. 729 F. Supp. 35 (M.D.N.C. 1990) . . . . • passim Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, Civil Action C-84-73-WS, slip op. (Jan. 24, 1990) • passim Perez v. Ortiz. 849 F.2d 793 (2d Cir. 1988) ................ • 17, 18 Pierce v. Cook and Co.. 518 F.2d 720 cert, denied. 423 U.S. 1079 (1976) • 37 Polites v. U.S.. 364 U.S. 426 (1960) ........................ • 37 Ricketts v. Midwest National Bank. 874 F.2d 1177 (7th Cir. 1989) ................ • 17, 18 Rodriguez v. General Motors, 1990 U.S.App. LEXIS 8928 (9th Cir, June 6, 1990) • 25 Scjuare D Co. v. Niagara Frontier Tariff Bureau, 760 F.2d 1347 (2d Cir. 1985) ................ . 16 Stanback v. Stanback, 297 N.C. 181, 254 S.E.2d 611 (1979) • 33 Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140 (1985)............................ 17 Tingler v. Marshall, 716 F.2d 1109 (6th Cir. 1983) ................ • 17, 18 United States v. Williams, 674 F.2d 310 (4th Cir. 1982) ................ • 39 Wade v. Orange Countv Sheriff's Office, 844 F.2d 951 (2nd Cir. 1988) ................ • 25 Werner v. Carbo, 731 F.2d 204 (4th Cir. 1984) ................ • 37 Williams v. Pennsvlvania Railroad Co., 313 F.2d 203 (2d Cir. 1963) ................ • 28 Woodruff v. Miller, 64 N.C. App. 364, 307 S.E.2d 176 (1983) 31, 33 IV Yuclan Enterprises. Inc, v. Nakagawa. 583 F. Supp. 1574 (D.C. Hawaii 1984) . . . . 37 STATUTES 28 U.S.C. § 1 9 1 5 ( d ) ................................ 17 28 U.S.C. § 2 1 0 6 ................ .................... 28 42 U.S.C. § 1981 . . . . . . . . . . passim Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6).................... 8, 33, 37, 38 t v ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW This appeal presents four distinct questions relating to the propriety of the district court's decision, on remand from this Court and the Supreme Court, to dismiss Brenda Patterson's claim that McLean Credit Union discriminatorily denied her a promotion in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981: 1. Whether the district court erred in dismissing Ms. Patterson's promotion claim sua sponte. in the absence of any motion from a party and without opportunity for plaintiff to brief the continued viability of her promotion claim. 2. Whether the district court applied the wrong legal standard in determining that the promotion plaintiff alleged she was denied would have created a "new and distinct relation" between the parties under Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. 109 S. Ct. 2363 (1989). 3. Whether the district court improperly usurped the jury's role as the finder of fact in determining that plaintiff's compensation, location, office, and working conditions were the same as they would have been had she received the promotion she sought. 4. Whether the Supreme Court changed the legal standard governing discriminatory promotion-denial claims sufficiently that plaintiff is entitled to conduct further discovery of facts relating to the new standard. 1 This appeal also presents a question relating to plaintiff's claim under North Carolina law that she suffered intentional infliction of emotional distress: 5. Whether the district court abused its discretion when it denied plaintiff's motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6) to reopen judgment, despite recent decisions in the North Carolina Court of Appeals establishing that harassment such as Mrs. Patterson endured is sufficiently outrageous to constitute intentional infliction of emotional distress. 2 STANDARDS OF REVIEW The Court must review de novo the district court's dismissal of the § 1981 promotion claim. The district court's dismissal of plaintiff's claim of intentional infliction of mental and emotional distress must be reviewed for an abuse of discretion. STATEMENT OF THE CASE Nature of the Case Brenda Patterson appeals from two district court decisions disposing of her remaining claims in this case. She seeks reversal of the district court's decision that 42 U.S.C. § 1981 does not encompass her claim that her former employer, McLean Credit Union ("McLean," "the Company"), discriminatorily denied her a promotion. She also seeks reversal of the district court's denial of her motion, based on a change in the law, to reopen its prior judgment dismissing her claim under North Carolina law that Mclean subjected her to intentional infliction of emotional distress. Course of Proceedings Mrs. Patterson filed her Complaint against McLean Credit Union on January 25, 1984 in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, alleging that McLean denied her a promotion, harassed her and discharged her because 3 She alsoshe is black, all in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981.1 alleged that she suffered intentional infliction of mental and emotional distress in violation of North Carolina law. McLean filed a motion for summary judgment on November 6, 1984. McLean argued that each of Mrs. Patterson's § 1981 claims was barred by the statute of limitations, that she had failed to present sufficient evidence of harassment or racial motivation to make out a prima facie case under § 1981, and that she had alleged insufficient evidence of distress to support her claim under North Carolina law of intentional infliction of mental and emotional distress. The District Court denied the motion with respect to these claims. Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, No. C-84-73-WS, slip op. (M.D.N.C. Mar. 14, 1985).2 * A six-day jury trial was held in November 1985. At the close of the presentation of Mrs. Patterson's case, the court granted McLean's motion for a directed verdict on the intentional Section 1981 states: All persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right in every State and Territory to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, give evidence, and to the full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of persons and property as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, penalties, taxes, licenses, and exactions of every kind, and to no other. 2 Mrs. Patterson had raised a second state-law claim that the Company had negligently breached a duty of care in retaining Mr. Stevenson as a supervisor of black employees when the Company knew that Mr. Stevenson was prejudiced against black persons. The district court dismissed this claim on McLean's motion for summary judgment as not actionable under North Carolina law. Id. at 17- 18. Mrs. Patterson has not since pursued the claim. 4 infliction of mental and emotional distress claim, holding that the evidence of mistreatment "does not come anywhere near amounting to the types of conduct that the North Carolina Courts have allowed recovery on or have discussed with reference to the intentional infliction of emotional distress." 3 Tr. 7 4 (3 JA 45).3 The court also granted a directed verdict on the harassment claim on the ground that racial harassment is not prohibited by § 1981. 3 Tr. 75 (3 JA 46). At the close of all the testimony, the district court denied McLean's motion for directed verdict on the remaining claims, finding that there was sufficient evidence of racial animus to send the promotion-denial and discharge claims to the jury. 4 Tr. 125-126 (JA 22-23).4 The district court instructed the jury that in order for Mrs. Patterson to recover for discriminatory promotion denial she had to prove that she was better gualified than the employee who was promoted into the position she sought. The jury found for McLean on both the promotion-denial and the discharge claims. 5 Tr. 12-13 (3 JA 143-44). Mrs. Patterson appealed, contending that the trial court had erred, first, in granting a directed verdict on her claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress and racial Citations in the form " __ JA __" refer to the volume of the Joint Appendix and the page at which the cited material appears. 4 Citations in the form "SA ___" refer to the page in the Supplemental Appendix at which the cited material appears. 5 harassment, and second, in incorrectly charging the jury on the promotion-denial claim.5 This Court affirmed the decision of the district court. Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. 805 F.2d 1143 (4th Cir. 1986). It held that racial harassment is not prohibited by § 1981, id. at 1145, and that "the conduct of McLean through its president, Stevenson, was not 'extreme and outrageous'" under what it believed to be a stringent North Carolina standard. Id. at 1146. The Court of Appeals also held that the district court properly instructed the jury that Mrs. Patterson had to show superior gualifications in order to recover on her promotion claim. Id. at 1147. On March 19, 1987, the Court denied Mrs. Patterson's petition for rehearing and suggestion for rehearing en banc. The United States Supreme Court considered three issues on certiorari: First, the Supreme Court determined that § 1981 prohibits private as well as governmental discrimination.6 Second, the Court affirmed this Court's holding that § 1981 does not cover claims of racial harassment. The Supreme Court held that the § 1981 right to make contracts "extends only to the Mrs. Patterson additionally challenged on appeal the district court's exclusion of testimony of one witness who had been the only other black employee of McLean Credit Union between 1952 and 1972, and its exclusion of testimony of a second witness who offered expert testimony on personnel practices in the Winston- Salem area at the time. The Supreme Court raised this question on its own initiative and sought additional briefing before it affirmed the lower courts' application of the statute to McLean. See 485 U.S. 617 (1988) . 6 formation of a contract, and not to problems that may arise later from the conditions of continuing employment." Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. 109 S. Ct. 2363 (1989). The Court commented that, although promotions necessarily occur during the course of continuing employment, certain promotion-denial claims remained within the reach of § 1981. Whether a promotion claim is cognizable under § 1981, the Court explained, "depends upon whether the nature of the change in position was such that it involved the opportunity to enter into a new contract with the employer" rising to the level of a "new and distinct relation." Id. at 2377. The Supreme Court did not apply the "new and distinct relation" standard to plaintiff's promotion claim, however, "[bjecause respondent has not argued at any stage that petitioner's promotion claim is not cognizable under § 1981." Id. The third issue before the Supreme Court was whether the district court erroneously instructed the jury on the promotion- denial claim. The Court reversed on this ground, and remanded the promotion-denial claim because the district court "instructed the jury that petitioner had to prove that she was better qualified than the white employee who allegedly received the promotion," where it should have instructed that she had to prove only that she was qualified. Id. In this Court on remand, plaintiff moved on the basis of an intervening change in North Carolina law for reconsideration of the Court's earlier decision affirming dismissal of her pendent 7 claim of intentional infliction of mental and emotional distress. The Court, in a per curiam opinion, suggested that "plaintiff's motion is one more properly addressed to the district court as one to reopen a judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6)." Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. 887 F.2d 484, 485 (4th Cir. 1989) . This Court also remanded the § 1981 promotion claim to the district court. It instructed that "the issue of cognizability of the specific promotion-denial claim asserted by plaintiff should be considered an open one to be resolved in light of the Supreme Court's opinion, whether on the pleadings, or on motion for summary judgment, or by trial, as the course of further proceedings may warrant." Id. at 485 (citations omitted). Mrs. Patterson filed a motion in the district court under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6) on December 26, 1989 requesting that the trial court reopen the judgment against her on her intentional infliction of emotional distress claim. On January 24, 1990, the court entered an order denying her motion to reopen the judgment. The same day it entered a second order sua sponte dismissing her promotion-denial claim without notifying Mrs. Patterson that the issue of the cognizability of her promotion claim was before the court, nor giving her an opportunity to brief the issue. Mrs. Patterson appeals both of these orders. 8 District Court Opinions The district court on its own initiative dismissed Mrs. Patterson's § 1981 claim of discriminatory promotion denial. See Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. 729 F. Supp. 35 (M.D.N.C. 1990) (SA 12). Without the benefit of briefing, the district court reviewed the record and construed the standard established by the Supreme Court for § 1981 promotion claims. The district court determined that whether the promotion plaintiff was denied would have amounted to "an opportunity for a new and distinct relation" between Mrs. Patterson and McLean — and therefore could still be the basis for a promotion-denial claim under the Supreme Court's ruling — depended on whether both positions were "compensated at an hourly wage basis at the same location, in the same office, and under the same working conditions." Id. at 36. The district court then determined as a factual matter, in the absence of any jury findings, that the two positions were not sufficiently distinct, as gauged by these factors, to satisfy the Supreme Court's test. In a separate opinion issued the same day, the district court denied Mrs. Patterson's Rule 60(b)(6) motion to reopen its dismissal of her claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress on the ground that the new cases cited by plaintiff did not constitute a change in North Carolina law. See Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. Civil Action C-84-73-WS, slip op. (Jan. 24, 1990) (SA 7). The district court held that the new legal standard of intentional infliction of emotional distress 9 established in a recent North Carolina decision, Dixon v. Stuart. 85 N.C. App. 338, 354 S.E.2d 757 (1987), did not apply to this case because the North Carolina court applied the standard in reviewing the allegations of the complaint on a motion to dismiss, and the issue arose in this case at the directed verdict stage. The district court also rejected plaintiff's contention that another North Carolina decision, Brown v. Burlington Industries. Inc.. 93 N.C.App. 431, 378 S.E.2d 232 (1989), expanded the category of conduct redressable as intentional infliction of emotional distress because it failed to see a distinction between, on one hand, the level of outrageousness that had previously been required under Hogan v. Forsyth Country Club. 79 N.C.App. 483, 340 S.E.2d 116 (1986), where the defendant entreated the plaintiff to have sex with him, repeatedly rubbed up against her in a sexual manner, and threatened her with a knife, and, on the other hand, the level of outrageousness held to be sufficient in the more recent decision in Brown. where the harassment was limited to sexual remarks and gestures. See slip op. at 4-5. STATEMENT OF THE FACTS Appellant Brenda Patterson, a black woman, was an employee of McLean Credit Union for 10 years. Robert Stevenson, the chief operating officer of McLean, interviewed and hired Mrs. Patterson as an accounting clerk. 1 Tr. 18, 60-61 (1 JA 37-39, 75-76). When she began working at McLean on May 5, 1972, she was the sole 10 black employee in the office, 1 Tr. 22-24, 96 (1 JA 41, 96), and only the second black employee hired by McLean since 1953. 3 Tr. 125 (SA 20). Although she had been hired as an accounting clerk, Mrs. Patterson worked as a file clerk and full-time teller for approximately two years, 1 Tr. 26 (1 JA 45), after which she principally filed and had limited part-time teller responsibilities. 1 Tr. 81 (1 JA 81). In 1976, after additional filing responsibilities had been imposed on her, Mrs. Patterson relinquished her part-time teller duties. 1 Tr. 81-82 (1 JA 81- 2). Mrs. Patterson worked as file coordinator in the office from 1976 until the Company laid her off on July 19, 1982. 2 Tr. 7 (1 JA 125). McLean terminated her employment six months later. 2 Tr. 10 (1 JA 128) Although she had expressed an interest in an accountant position, Mrs. Patterson was never promoted from her filing job during her ten years with the Company. 1 Tr. 23, 45 (1JA42, 60). A white woman, Susan Williamson, who was hired also as an accounting clerk two years after Mrs. Patterson, was promoted to the position of accountant intermediate in 1982. Pltf. Ex. 7 (SA 25). As a clerk, Mrs. Patterson filed documents, Deft. Ex. 15 (SA 27). The accountant intermediate, in contrast, had accounting, bookkeeping and money management responsibilities. Deft. Ex. 14 (SA 26) .7 Mrs. Patterson did not receive notification of the availability of the accountant intermediate position because the Company does not post job vacancies as they occur. 3 Tr. 163; 1 11 If Mrs. Patterson had been promoted to accountant intermediate, she would have moved from her desk located in a vault in the back of McLean and taken on new and substantially different responsibilities. See 3 Tr. 76-77 (3 JA 47-8); Deft. Ex. 14, 15 (listing functions of each job) (SA 26, 27). The two jobs were so different that defendant's counsel, in arguing that Mrs. Patterson was unqualified for promotion to accountant intermediate, even contended that the facts in this case were analogous to a situation in which "I'm going to make a decision in my law firm where I'm going to make an associate a partner, and a paralegal comes to me and says, 'Mr. Davis, I should have been trained for that job.'" 3 Tr. 48 (SA 19). Mrs. Patterson was also harassed and treated differently from white employees and was subjected to racially offensive remarks while employed at McLean. Mr. Stevenson told her in 1972 during her interview for employment that the white women in the office probably would not like her because "they weren't used to working with blacks." 1 Tr. 19 (1 JA 38). Mr. Stevenson's comments made Mrs. Patterson "nervous and anxious" about starting her new job at McLean. 1 Tr. 19-20 (1 JA 38-9). Mr. Stevenson told her that "blacks are known to work slower than whites by nature." 1 Tr. 88 (1 JA 88). He also told a white employee who had recommended a black man for a computer programmer position that he would interview the black candidate but would not hire Tr. 45-46 (1 JA 60-61). 12 i him because "we don't need any more problems around here." 2 Tr. 161 (2 JA 111). Mr. Stevenson repeatedly stood and stared at Mrs. Patterson while she was working. 1 Tr. 90-91 (1 JA 90-91). He told Mrs. Patterson to dust and sweep although white employees were not told to do so. 1 Tr. 31 (1 JA 50). Mr. Stevenson assigned Mrs. Patterson more and more work and told her that she "could leave if [she] could not handle it," 1 Tr. 83 (1 JA 83), even though Mrs. Patterson explained to him repeatedly that she could not catch up with her work because she had too many assignments. 1 Tr. 82-83 (1 JA 82-3). Mr. Stevenson also criticized Mrs. Patterson and the one other black employee by name at staff meetings in front of others and did not similarly criticize white employees. 1 Tr. 40 (1 JA 56). Mr. Stevenson's treatment and remarks left Mrs. Patterson "humiliated ... nervous ...[and] downgraded" and caused her to lose sleep and cry constantly. 1 Tr. 60 (1 JA 75). Dr. Myrna Williams, a clinical psychologist, diagnosed Mrs. Patterson's emotional difficulties as those of a behavioral syndrome associated with stress. 3 Tr. 38 (3 JA 36). 13 ( SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT The district court's decision to dismiss Mrs. Patterson's § 1981 claim was based solely on its determination that a promotion from file clerk to accountant intermediate would not present an "opportunity for a new and distinct relation" between Mrs. Patterson and McLean under Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. 109 S. Ct. at 2377. This ruling should be reversed for four independent reasons. First, the district court committed reversible error when it dismissed plaintiff's case sua sponte without giving her an opportunity to file a memorandum of law in support of her sole remaining claim. If the Court remands on this ground, it need not reach the other issues relating to plaintiff's § 1981 claim. Second, the district court misconstrued the Supreme Court's standard for reviewing discriminatory promotion denials as this Court recently interpreted that standard in Mallory v. Booth Refrigeration Supply Co.. Inc.. 882 F.2d 908 (4th Cir. 1989). The district court did not inquire whether plaintiff's job responsibilities and pay would have increased had she been promoted, notwithstanding that those were the critical factors identified by this Court in Mallory. Instead, the court below dismissed the claim based on its conclusions that plaintiff would still have been "compensated on an hourly wage basis at the same location, in the same office, and under the same working conditions." 729 F. Supp. at 36. These factors are perhaps marginally relevant, but are clearly insufficient standing alone. 14 ( Third, even if the legal standard the district court applied were correct, the court erred in making its own factual determinations, rather than sending the factual issues to a jury. Fourth, even if the court below was of the view that there was not sufficient evidence in the original trial record to raise a jury issue under the new Supreme Court standard, plaintiff is entitled to conduct supplemental discovery of newly relevant facts because that standard was not announced until four years after the close of discovery. The district court's decision denying plaintiff's motion to set aside and reopen the judgment on her state-law claim of intentional infliction of mental and emotional distress should also be reversed, for two reasons. First, the district court clearly erred in concluding that there had been no change in the law sufficient to warrant reconsideration of plaintiff's claim. Since the district court originally directed a verdict in McLean's favor on this claim, the North Carolina courts have for the first time held that allegations of ridicule and harassment on the job, similar to what Mrs. Patterson suffered, constitute intentional infliction of emotional distress. Second, the district court erroneously held that a North Carolina decision expanding the state law cause of action is applicable only to pleadings and does not similarly apply at the directed verdict stage. The court held, in effect, that even if allegations of workplace ridicule and harassment alone now suffice to state a 15 { claim, evidence proving those allegations at trial still does not warrant the jury's consideration. ARGUMENT I. THE DISTRICT COURT ERRED IN DISMISSING PLAINTIFF'S PROMOTION CLAIM SUA SPONTE. WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE TO PLAINTIFF AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT A MEMORANDUM ON THE CONTINUED VIABILITY OF THAT CLAIM The decision of the district court to dismiss Mrs. Patterson's promotion claim must be reversed because the district court on its own motion dismissed plaintiff's claim without following the proper procedures. "The district court has no authority to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted without giving the plaintiff an opportunity to be heard." Square D Co. v. Niagara Frontier Tariff Bureau. 760 F.2d 1347, 1365 (2d Cir. 1985). Unless a plaintiff's claims are "irreparably frivolous or malicious," the court "should issue an order to show cause, permitting the plaintiff to respond and to amend" before the claims are dismissed. Boyce v. Alizaduh. 595 F.2d 948, 951 (4th Cir. 1979) quoting Recommended Procedures for Handling Prisoner Civil Rights Cases in the Federal Courts (Federal Judicial Center, Tentative Report No. 2, 1977), 56-57. The Supreme Court has approvingly cited the Sixth Circuit's requirement that a plaintiff be notified of a proposed sua sponte dismissal and allowed to respond as an excellent example of a Court of Appeals exercising its supervisory powers in a manner "supported by sound 16 Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140,consideration of judicial economy." 146 and n. 5 (1985), citing Tingler v. Marshall. 716 F.2d 1109, 1110-12 (6th Cir. 1983). Every Circuit Court of Appeals to have ruled on this issue has agreed that a plaintiff must be afforded certain procedural protections before a claim is dismissed in the absence of a motion by a party. At a minimum, the plaintiff must be given notice of the court's intention and must be allowed to submit a written memorandum. Courts follow the same general rule, whether in the context of dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), Rule 12(c), Rule 41, Rule 56 or 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d). See. e.g.. Literature v. Quinn. 482 F.2d 372, 374 (1st Cir. 1973); Perez v. Ortiz. 849 F.2d 793, 797-98 (2d Cir. 1988); Dougherty v. Harper's Magazine Co.. 537 F.2d 758, 761 (3rd Cir. 1976); Tingler v. Marshall. 716 F.2d 1109, 1110-12 (6th Cir. 1983); Ricketts v. Midwest National Bank. 874 F.2d 1177, 1182-85 (7th Cir. 1989); Munz v. Parr. 758 F.2d 1254, 1257-58 (8th Cir. 1985) ; Franklin v. State of Oregon. State Welfare Div., 662 F.2d 1337, 1340-42 (9th Cir. 1981); Jefferson Fourteenth Assocs. v. Wometco de Puerto Rico. 695 F.2d 524, 526-27 (11th Cir. 1983). See also Council of Federated Orgs. v. Mize. 339 F.2d 898, 900- 01 (5th Cir. 1964).8 Some courts have not ruled on the issue, District courts within this Circuit have also adopted the generally accepted reguirements that plaintiffs be afforded notice that a district court intends to dismiss their claims, and an opportunity to respond. For example, in Johnson v. Baskerville. 568 F. Supp. 853, 856-59 (E.D. Va. 1983), the court dismissed a frivolous claim under 28 U.S.C. section 1915(d), noting that if "the court finds that the complaint is frivolous but that it could 17 but none has adopted a contrary rule. Failure to ensure notice and an opportunity for briefing is reversible error. There are three independent reasons why these procedural protections are required. See. e. q. . Ricketts. 874 F.2d at 1184- 85; Perez. 849 F.2d at 797-98; Tinaler 716 F.2d at 1111. First, dismissal by the court without notice prejudices the plaintiff by depriving her of any opportunity to amend the complaint or to present her best arguments against the dismissal. Mrs. Patterson has been prejudiced by the district court's hasty dismissal of her remaining federal cause of action. She preserved her promotion-denial claim at great expense and effort, and prevailed in the Supreme Court on the sole issue relating to that claim that the parties were still litigating. The issues on remand are novel and complex. The district court applied a new legal standard announced by the Supreme Court only months ago. The lower courts generally have just begun to apply that standard, and in doing so have given it a range of differing interpretations. Compare. e.q., Crader v. Concordia College, 724 be cured, the court should issue a show cause order, explaining why the complaint is frivolous and allowing the plaintiff an opportunity to respond and to amend his complaint." Id. at 859. The court dismissed the pro se complaint in that case without a response from the plaintiff because, in its view, there was no arguable construction of the complaint that would have entitled the plaintiff to relief. In Clinton Community Hospital Corp. v. Southern Maryland Medical Center. 374 F. Supp. 450, 453-54 (D.C. Md. 1974) , the court dismissed plaintiff's complaint as against all defendants on the basis of a motion by a single defendant only after it was satisfied that the requirements of notice and an opportunity to file a written argument had been "met, or rendered unnecessary." Id. at 454. 18 F. Supp. 558 (N.D. 111. 1989) (holding that denial of promotion from assistant director to director in housekeeping is not actionable), with Miller v. Swissre Holding Co., Inc.. 731 F. Supp. 129 (S.D.N.Y. 1990) (holding that denial of promotion from production coordinator to supervisor of production control is actionable). In these circumstances, briefing is particularly crucial. In the district court, however, Mrs. Patterson never had an opportunity to present her views on the continued . . . . 9viability of her claim. Second, sua sponte dismissals without notice deviate from the traditions of the adversarial system and "may give the appearance that the judiciary is a proponent rather than an independent entity." Franklin, 662 F.2d at 1324. An appearance of partisanship is a particular risk in a case such as this, in which the district judge has already conducted a jury trial during which he may well have formed his own opinions about the facts. In view of the complexity and novelty of the issues, the district court's decision to shortcut the adversarial process, and to seek out a ground for dismissal on its own initiative, Even if this Court were in agreement with the district court that plaintiff's promotion-denial claim should be dismissed as not cognizable under section 1981, the deprivation of due process caused by the preemptory dismissal in the district court can not be cured even by full briefing on appeal. The federal system of appellate review guarantees an opportunity to present an issue once in the district court, and again on appeal. If dismissals without notice could be cured by full briefing on appeal, the courts of appeals would effectively become the courts of first instance. 19 t creates the impression that its decision owes more to predisposition than to legal reasoning. Finally, sua sponte dismissals without proper procedural prerequisites lead to the very waste of judicial resources that the district court here may have sought to avoid by dismissing the case. A hasty dismissal without the benefit of briefing is likely to include errors, and to cause "shuttling of the lawsuit between the district and appellate courts." Lewis v. State of New York. 547 F.2d 4, 6 (2d Cir. 1976). The district court here, for example, made procedural errors as well as errors in both law and fact on the merits. See infra. Points II-V. If the district court was motivated by a desire for judicial economy, it has frustrated its own purpose and triggered yet another round of appeals. This Court should enforce the requirement that claims not be dismissed without briefing, and clearly instruct the district courts that premature wasteful appeals will not be tolerated. If the decision of the district court is reversed on this ground, the other federal issues presented on this appeal should be pretermitted pending further proceedings in the district court. 20 t II. THE DISTRICT COURT INCORRECTLY CONSTRUED THE "NEW AND DISTINCT RELATION" STANDARD A. The District Court Disregarded This Court's Recent Interpretation of the "New and Distinct Relation" Standard In determining whether the promotion Mrs. Patterson sought created a "new and distinct relation" under Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. 109 S. Ct. at 2377, the district court contradicted this Court's recent interpretation of that standard. In Mallory v. Booth Refrigeration Supply Co. Inc.. 882 F.2d at 910, this Court held that a "promotion from clerk to supervisor with a consequent increase in responsibility and pay" satisfies the "new and distinct relation" test. Under this standard there can be no doubt that Mrs. Patterson meets the requirements of the "new and distinct relation" test. The two positions were separate and distinct with very different responsibilities. As file coordinator, Mrs. Patterson filed insurance papers, titles, paid loans and other documents. Deft. Ex. 15 (SA 27). Susan Williamson, as accountant intermediate, on the other hand, had money management responsibilities, 3 Tr. 100 (3 JA 71), and performed numerous duties that required use of her bookkeeping and accounting knowledge. Deft. Ex. 14 (SA 26), 4 Tr. 37-38 (3 JA 119-20). McLean repeatedly made the point at trial that the responsibilities of the two jobs were significantly different. The Company's chief operating officer, Robert Stevenson, testified at trial that because McLean Credit Union was small, 21 jobs were specialized and "dealt with their specific type functions." 3 Tr. 163 (SA 21). The district court itself noted that "clearly from the evidence" Mrs. Patterson and Mrs. Williamson performed different job functions. 3 Tr. at 72 (3 JA 42). To further emphasize the dramatic differences between the two jobs, the defendant compared a promotion from file coordinator to accountant intermediate to a promotion from paralegal to partner of a law firm. 3 Tr. 48 (SA 19). This is precisely the kind of promotion which the Supreme Court held can still be the basis of a § 1981 claim. 109 S. Ct. at 2377. Mrs. Patterson would have received a pay increase if she had been promoted to accountant intermediate in 1982. See, Pltf. Ex. 7, 8. In May 1982 Mrs. Patterson earned $8.04 an hour, whereas Mrs. Williamson at that time made $10.00 an hour after her promotion to accountant intermediate. Id. The district court did not follow the holding in Mallory when it dismissed Mrs. Patterson's promotion claim. In its opinion the court held that [ajfter a careful consideration of the record of this case, the transcript of the trial testimony, and the exhibits introduced at trial, the Court concludes that the promotion allegedly denied the plaintiff did not amount to "an opportunity for a new and distinct relation" between plaintiff and her employer. Patterson, 729 F. Supp. at 36 (SA 13). The court concluded that the fact that plaintiff's position and the position to which she was allegedly denied a promotion were both compensated on an hourly wage basis at the same location, in the same office, and under the same working conditions, demonstrates to the Court that promotion to "Accounting Clerk Intermediate" did not 22 provide plaintiff the opportunity for a new and distinct relation with her employer. Id. The district court does not cite Mallory and, undoubtedly, failed to consider it in its determination of whether Mrs. Patterson's promotion claim was cognizable or not. By ignoring Mallory, the district court incorrectly required Mrs. Patterson to prove that the two positions were performed in different offices and that one was an hourly position and the other a salaried position, despite evidence that McLean considered the two jobs to be vastly different, that it considered the accountant position to be a better position than that of file coordinator, and that one paid considerably more than the other. Furthermore, although the district court noted that there was a salary differential, it improperly discounted its importance in reaching its decision. 729 F. Supp. at 36 (SA 13). Under Mallory. an increase in pay under the same pay system alone is sufficient. B. The District Court Did Not Consider All Of the Relevant Factors When It Dismissed Mrs. Patterson's Claims The factors on which the district court relied are insufficient to determine whether Mrs. Patterson's claim meets the "new and distinct relation" test. Courts that have addressed the issue have "carefully examin[ed] what changes, if any, will result from the promotion and determin[ed] if the combined changes are significant enough to give rise to a new and distinct 23 relation." Hudgens v. Harper-Grace Hosps.. 728 F. Supp. 1321, 1325 (E.D. Mich. 1990)(citing Mallory as one case illustrating the factual analysis necessary to deciding whether the "new and distinct relation" test has been met); see also. Luna v. City and County of Denver. 718 F. Supp. 854 (D. Colo. 1989); Miller v. Shawmut Bank of Boston. 726 F. Supp. 337 (D. Mass. 1989). In Hudgens. the Court enumerated a number of significant changes that courts have considered when they have addressed the issue: "changes in pay, in duties and responsibilities, in status from hourly to salaried employee, in required qualifications, in responsibility level in daily duties, in potential liability, and pension and other benefits." 728 F. Supp. at 1325. The district court concluded in its opinion that Mrs. Patterson had not established a "new and distinct relation" because both positions were "compensated on an hourly wage basis at the same location, in the same office, and the same working conditions." The court did not consider the duties and responsibilities, required qualifications, or the level of responsibility of each position in the office, although there was evidence in the record on these issues. The district court's standard disregards substantial practical differences in job responsibilities and pay, and overlooks whether the positions are at entirely different job tiers in the firm. Such an interpretation is contrary to the law in this Court and other courts that have addressed the issue. It also ignores how varying workplaces are run and allows employers 24 to circumvent the law by manipulating position titles and modes of pay. III. THE DISTRICT COURT IMPROPERLY USURPED THE ROLE OF THE JURY BY MAKING FACTUAL FINDINGS Assuming, arguendo. that the district court's standard is correct, the decision of the district court must be reversed because it deprives Mrs. Patterson of her right to a jury trial on her §1981 promotion-denial claim. See, Lytle v. Household Manufacturing Co.. 110 S. Ct. 1331 (1990); Wade v. Orange County Sheriff's Office. 844 F.2d 951 (2nd Cir. 1988); Edwards v. Boeing Vertol Co.. 717 F.2d 761 (3rd Cir. 1983), vacated on other grounds. 468 U.S. 1201 (1984); Kim v. Coppin State College. 662 F.2d 1955 (4th Cir. 1981); Bibbs v. Jim Lynch Cadillac. Inc., 653 F.2d 316 (8th Cir. 1981).10 When a plaintiff has "produced sufficient evidence to raise a genuine issue under [§] 1981," the trial court should allow a jury to make the "ultimate determination." Kim. 662 F.2d at 1061. There is no question that there are sufficient facts in the record to warrant sending Mrs. Patterson's claim to a jury. The position of file coordinator principally consisted of filing a variety of documents, whereas the accountant position included money The Ninth Circuit Rodriguez v. General Motors. 1990 U.S.App. LEXIS 8928 (9th Cir, June 6, 1990), correctly observed that the Supreme Court intended Mrs. Patterson's case to go to a jury, otherwise, "there would have been no need for the Supreme Court to set out what the appropriate jury instructions should be." 25 management responsibilities, and use of accounting and bookkeeping skills, and was a significantly better paid position. The district court in this case dismissed Mrs. Patterson's promotion-denial claim on the basis of its own determination that, as a factual matter, a promotion from file coordinator to accountant intermediate does not create a "new and distinct relation" between employer and employee. The court drew conclusions about McLean's organizational structure from the testimony of witnesses and other evidence in the record in order to evaluate with respect to the jobs at issue here the factors it viewed as relevant. It also made determinations contingent on Mrs. Patterson's credibility, as well as the credibility of other witnesses. The district court concluded "after careful consideration of the record in this case, the transcript of the trial testimony, and the exhibits introduced at trial" that the positions of file coordinator and accountant intermediate were "both compensated on an hourly wage basis at the same location, in the same office, and under the same working conditions." 729 F. Supp. at 36. The district court, however, is not authorized to make such a determination. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby. 477 U.S. 202, 206 (1986) (holding that credibility determinations, the weighing of evidence and the drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury functions). A court reviewing evidence in support of a § 1981 claim can only determine whether summary judgment is warranted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. In assessing 26 whether plaintiff's claim meets the standard the Supreme Court established, the court should have inquired whether the evidence of differences between the two jobs suffice to raise a factual issue whether the promotion would create a "new and distinct relation." If so, then the claim should have been submitted to the jury. Here, the evidence clearly shows significant differences between Mrs. Patterson's job and the position into which she sought to be promoted. Only a jury is authorized to determine what differences exist between the two positions and whether those differences are significant enough to create a "new and distinct relation." Thus, even if the court could grant summary judgment in the absence of a motion by McLean, the record does not support judgment in its favor. Furthermore, the district court's factual conclusions are erroneous. Because the district court failed to specify the evidence upon which it relied, or to describe its factual inquiry regarding what constitutes the "same office" or "same working conditions," it is difficult to determine what evidence it relied on to reach its conclusion. An independent review of the transcript reveals, however, that beginning in 1980 Mrs. Patterson worked alone in a vault in the back of the Credit Union. 1 Tr. 99 (1 JA 99). There is no evidence in the record about the location of Mrs. Williamson's office, but she did not work in the vault with Mrs. Patterson. Furthermore, the court miscalculated the wage difference between the two positions, since the salary differential at the time Mrs. Patterson was laid 27 off was in fact $1.96 and not 89 cents as the court found. Pay- Record of Susan Williamson, Pltf. Ex. 7; Pay Record of Brenda Patterson, Pltf. Ex. 8. IV. EVEN IF THE EVIDENCE IN THE RECORD WERE INSUFFICIENT TO RAISE A JURY ISSUE, PLAINTIFF WOULD BE ENTITLED TO CONDUCT DISCOVERY REGARDING WHETHER THE PROMOTION SHE SOUGHT WOULD HAVE PLACED HER IN A "NEW AND DISTINCT RELATION" WITH MCLEAN In considering whether there is sufficient evidence of discriminatory promotion denial to send to a jury, the Court should not rely on a trial record developed before the "new and distinct relation" standard even existed, but should afford plaintiff an opportunity to conduct further discovery geared to that standard. Under 28 U.S.C. § 2106, an appellate court has the authority to vacate or reverse a lower court judgment and "require such proceedings to be had as may be just under the circumstances." Where a legal standard has been altered on appeal, the appropriate course is for the court to vacate the judgment and remand the case to the district court to allow the parties to present further evidence. See Williams v. Pennsylvania R.R. Co.. 313 F.2d 203, 214-15 (2d Cir. 1963). This case was tried in 1985, four years before the Supreme Court announced the "new and distinct relation" standard. Prior cases interpreting § 1981 had not focused, as the Supreme Court did in this case, on whether a promotion would create a new contract between the employer and employee, but had merely assumed that the discriminatory denial of a promotion violates 28 the statute. See, e.q.. Patterson v. McLean Credit Union. 805 F.2d at 1145; Brown v. Gaston County Dyeing Machine Co.. 457 F.2d 1377 (4th Cir. 1972). Although there is some evidence in the record relevant to the distinction between the position Mrs. Patterson held and the position into which she sought to be promoted, that evidence was not discovered and presented in a manner tailored to meet the new standard. The evidence from the trial that relates to the distinctions between Mrs. Patterson's job responsibilities and those associated with the promotion at issue was presented to show whether Mrs. Patterson was qualified for the promotion, and not to show that the responsibilities of the job she sought were distinct from those of the one she held at the time.11 12 Under these circumstances, plaintiff is entitled • 12to conduct further discovery. Although plaintiff disputes that the factors considered by the district court properly frame the factual inquiry into Trial exhibits list some of the duties formally associated with Mrs. Patterson's job and Susan Williamson's accountant position, See Pltf. Exs. 14, 15, but the parties did not develop at trial the extent to which the descriptions are accurate. Whether a promotion would result in a "new and distinct relation" turns not on how the employer describes job duties as a formal matter, but upon the practical realities of the different jobs. Any other rule would permit an employer to circumvent § 1981's coverage by manipulating its written job descriptions. Further discovery relating to the functional distinctions in the day-to- day performance of these jobs would, therefore, also be appropriate. 12 Remand is particularly appropriate here, where the impact of the Supreme Court's decision was not briefed in the district court. See supra. Point I. Plaintiff did not even have an opportunity to point out to the district court how evidence that is in the record supports her claim. 29 whether the promotion would have created a "new and distinct relation," see supra. Point II, the record is incomplete with respect to those factors. The record reflects some aspects of Mrs. Patterson's working conditions, such as that her desk was located in the vault, and that she was continually harassed by Mr. Stevenson. But there is no basis in the record upon which to compare these conditions to those that an accountant intermediate worked under, to assess with respect to both jobs other aspects of working conditions, such as quality of work space, availability of secretarial and other support services, extent and nature of supervision, pace of work, availability of break time, frequency of interruptions, flexibility of schedule, perquisites and employee benefits, etc.13 Where there is evidence in the record on these points, it supports plaintiff's claim. See supra. Point III. As noted above, for example, the record reflects that Mrs. Patterson and Mrs. Williamson did not in fact work "in the same location, in the same office." Mrs. Patterson worked in the vault, and Mrs. Williamson did not. 30 V. THE DISTRICT COURT'S DENIAL OF MRS. PATTERSON'S MOTION TO REOPEN THE JUDGMENT IS AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION The district court erred when it concluded that a change in North Carolina law did not warrant reopening the prior judgment against Mrs. Patterson on her claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress. The district court granted the defendant's motion for directed verdict on this claim at the close of her case on the ground that "the factual situation that we have here does not come anywhere near to amounting to the types of conduct that the North Carolina courts have allowed recovery on or have discussed, with reference to intentional infliction of emotional distress." 3 Tr. 74 (3 JA 45). This Court affirmed, holding that "[t]he standard of 'outrageousness' established in the relatively few state court decisions is understandably a stringent one." 805 F.2d at 1146. Analyzing Woodruff v. Miller. 64 N.C. App. 364, 307 S.E.2d 176 (1983), Dickens v. Purvear. 302 N.C. 437, 276 S.E.2d 325 (1981), and Hogan v. Forsyth Country Club. 79 N.C. App. 483, 340 S.E.2d 116 (1986), this Court determined that "[rjecovery under that standard has been permitted only for conduct far more egregious than any charged to McLean in Patterson's evidence." 805 F.2d at 1146. This Court found Hogan. the first case in North Carolina to address a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress in the workplace, to be "[o]f particular relevance," id., and distinguished Hogan on the ground that Ms. Hogan's employer-defendant screamed and shouted at her, engaged in non-consensual and intimate 31 sexual touching, made sexual remarks and threatened her with a knife. Id. at 1146.14 This Court held that in Mrs. Patterson's case, in contrast, Mr. Stevenson's conduct fell "far short" of the factual situations that North Carolina courts had found sufficiently extreme and outrageous as a matter of law to support a jury finding of intentional infliction of emotional distress. Id. On remand from the Supreme Court, Mrs. Patterson filed in this Court a motion for reconsideration of its decision affirming the district court's dismissal of her claim on the grounds that Dixon v. Stuart. 85 N.C. App. 338, 354 S.E.2d 757 (1987), decided since the 1985 trial, altered the law for a claim of intentional infliction of mental and emotional distress. (SA 3). In Dixon. the plaintiff recovered on his claim due to ridicule and harassment on the job in the absence of any physical contact. Three plaintiffs in Hogan asserted an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim based on sexual harassment in the workplace. The Court of Appeals reversed the grant of summary judgment in favor of the employer in the case of one plaintiff, holding that the conduct shown could reasonably be regarded as extreme and outrageous, and therefore it was for the jury to determine whether the conduct was, in fact, sufficiently extreme and outrageous to result in liability. Hogan. 340 S.E.2d at 121. The North Carolina Court of Appeals, however, affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment against the other two plaintiffs because in the court's view, the defendant's treatment of them was simply not as a matter of law sufficiently outrageous to support their claim. id. 123. This Court in its opinion affirming the district court's dismissal of Mrs. Patterson's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim found the North Carolina court's ruling against these two plaintiffs significant in reaching its conclusion that the district court had properly dismissed Mrs. Patterson's claim. 32 354 S.E.2d at 759. This Court dismissed plaintiff's motion without prejudice suggesting "that plaintiff's motion is one more properly addressed to the district court as one to reopen a judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6)." Id. Mrs. Patterson then filed a motion to reopen and set aside judgment in the district court. The court denied Mrs. Patterson's motion. During the 1985 trial the district court relied on three North Carolina cases addressing intentional infliction of mental and emotional distress to grant the defendant's motion for a directed verdict, 3 Tr. 57 (3 JA 27), although none of these cases involved harassment in the workplace.15 The court's reasoning was that there were no cases with "this exact factual situation ... [and] the cases in North Carolina that we have had are far, far more ... outrageous than we have here." 3 Tr. 74 (3 JA 45). In its 1990 opinion denying plaintiff's motion to reopen, the district court stated that [p]laintiff asserts that Dixon recognized a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress where defendants simply ridiculed and harassed plaintiff in the workplace, intending to cause and actually causing emotional distress. Contrary to plaintiff's assertions, however, Dixon did not lower the standard for making a orima facie case. The court in Dixon only 15 Those three cases were Stanback v. Stanback. 297 N.C. 181, 254 S.E.2d 611 (1979), Dickens v. Purvear. 276 S.E.2d 325, and Woodruff v. Miller. 307 S.E.2d 176 (N.C. App. 1983). Stanback was the first case in North Carolina to recognize the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress. Its dicta suggesting that a plaintiff must show physical injury and that the harm suffered be foreseeable to prove intentional infliction of emotional distress was rejected later by the North Carolina Supreme Court in Dickens. 276 S.E.2d at 332. 33 addressed whether the trial court properly granted the defendant's Rule 12(b)(6) motion opposing plaintiff's infliction of emotional distress claim. The Dixon court did not consider whether plaintiff's evidence of intentional infliction of emotional distress rose to that level of conduct sufficient to support a claim or withstand a motion for directed verdict. Because the standard for granting a 12(b)(6) motion and a directed verdict motion are different, Dixon does not change the law regarding the propriety of a directed verdict on an emotional distress claim, and hence, will not affect this Court's ruling on the directed verdict motion. Slip op. at 4. The district court's analysis is patently erroneous. Subsequent opinions in the North Carolina Court of Appeals have changed the governing law. It is now clear that outrageous and extreme ridicule and harassment alone suffice, and that non- consensual touching or physical threats in the workplace are not required to sustain a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress. Dixon. decided a year after this Court affirmed the district court, held that "extreme and outrageous ridiculing and harassing" is sufficient to make out an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim. 354 S.E.2d at 759. Two years later, the North Carolina Court of Appeals held in Brown v. Burlington Industries. 93 N.C. App. 431, 378 S.E.2d 232, 235 (1989), a case involving sexual harassment in the workplace, that the plaintiff's supervisor's "remarks and gestures toward the plaintiff in the present case constituted conduct which could reasonably be found to be sufficiently outrageous to permit plaintiff to recover" on her intentional infliction of emotional distress claim. Although the district court asserted that the facts in Brown and Hogan "are nearly 34 identical," the facts in Brown did not include non-consensual touching or threats of physical injury. 378 S.E. 2d at 234-235. Dixon and Brown thus clearly for the first time authorize claims based on the kind of conduct Mrs. Patterson endured. This Court in Jordan v. Campbell-Taggart, Inc.. Civil Action No. 87-3595 slip op. (4th Cir. April 17, 1990), recently acknowledged the new North Carolina standard when it relied on Dixon to reach a result opposite from that of the district court here in a case with analogous facts.16 The Court held in Jordan that "[u]nder the proper circumstances, ridicule and harassment can constitute an intentional infliction of emotional distress," slip op. at 9 (citing Dixon). Plaintiff Jordan, a bakery systems manager in charge of delivery operations at Minuteman Transit, alleged that racial harassment on the job gave rise to a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress. The evidence showed that Burger, an employee of the defendant Campbell- Taggart, usurped Jordan's duties, demanded that Jordan remove black drivers from certain routes, preventing him from resolving delivery problems promptly by prohibiting him from contacting managers of restaurants where he made deliveries, but requiring that he alone deal with the managers if they were black. Id. at 4. The Court also noted evidence that Burger told Jordan to "'get in here' or 'get the hell in here,'" and stated: "I never Plaintiff relies here on Jordan because it is an "unpublished disposition . . . [that] has precedential value in relation to a material issue in [this] case and that there is no published opinion that would serve as well...." 4th Cir. I.O.P. 36.5. 35 said you people couldn't do a good job. I think everybody should own at least one." Id. at 5. Jordan testified that he was "humiliated" and "degraded" by Burger's treatment. Id. at 10. This Court held that [ajssessing the evidence here in the light most favorable to Jordan, we cannot say that the trial court erred in submitting the issue of Burger's individual liability for intentional infliction of emotional distress. On the evidence in its best light, Burger's conduct clearly constituted far more than the ordinary run of insult and offense that people must expect to encounter and tolerate in work places. Id. (citations omitted). The district court's holding that Dixon does not "affect this Court's ruling on the directed verdict motion" because Dixon "only addressed whether the trial court properly granted the defendant's Rule 12(b)(6) motion opposing plaintiff's infliction of emotional distress claim" is clearly wrong. Patterson. slip op. at 4 (SA 7). The court essentially held that the allegations of extreme and outrageous ridicule and harassment in Dixon stated a claim of intentional infliction of mental and emotional distress as a matter of law, but that evidence supporting those same allegations at trial is not sufficient to withstand a motion for directed verdict. This analysis creates a different substantive legal standard for differing stages of a case. There district court's reasoning is erroneous. If a new decision establishes that allegations of less severe conduct suffice to withstand a motion to dismiss, then a lesser quantum of evidence in turn suffices to present a claim to the jury. 36 To warrant relief under Rule 60(b)(6) a "movant must make a showing of timeliness, a meritorious defense, a lack of prejudice to the opposing party and exceptional circumstances." Werner v. Carbo, 731 F.2d 204 (4th Cir. 1984). Mrs. Patterson meets each of these requirements. First, she filed a timely motion in the district court after this court on remand suggested that Mrs. Patterson's motion to reconsider its decision on her tort claim filed before it would "more properly be addressed to the district court as one to reopen a judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6)." Id. Second, there is no prejudice to McLean. This Court has held that "the protraction of proceedings, the time and expense of a new trial" due to the vacation of a judgment is not a sufficient ground to prevent granting a 60(b) motion when justice requires it. Werner. 731 F.2d at 207. Third, a change in state decisional law after judgment has been entered warrants 60(b)(6) relief. Polites v. U .S., 364 U.S. 426 (1960); Pierce v. Cook and Co.. 518 F.2d 720, cert, denied. 423 U.S. 1079 (1976); Yuclan Enterprises, Inc, v. Nakaqawa. 583 F. Supp. 1574 (D.C. Hawaii 1984); EEOC v. Baltimore and O.R.R.. 557 F. Supp. 1112 (D.C. Md. 1983). Plaintiff has shown that North Carolina law on intentional infliction of mental and emotional distress has changed significantly since 1985 when Mrs. Patterson's case was first tried in court. Finally, this case also meets the 60(b) requirement of exceptional circumstances. If Mrs. Patterson is not granted 37 relief under 60(b)(6), she may not have any cause of action under either federal or state law. The United States Supreme Court in its opinion remanding this case specifically noted that part of its basis for excluding racial harassment from § 1981 coverage was its "'reluct[ance] to federalize matters' traditionally covered by state common law." 109 S. Ct. at 2376 (citations omitted). Mrs. Patterson's racial harassment claim can now only can be addressed under state law. Rule 60(b) "has invested federal courts with the power ... to accomplish justice." Compton v. Alton Steamship Co.. 608 F.2d 96, 102 (4th Cir.1979), quoting Klapprott v. United States. 335 U.S. 601, 614-15 (1949). Relief under Rule 60(b)(6) is appropriate in cases "where relief might not be available under any other clause in 60(b)." Id. Mrs. Patterson cannot obtain relief under any other subsection of Rule 60(b).17 Justice requires that Mrs. Patterson be given the opportunity to present her harassment claim before a jury. She was not afforded that chance during her first trial. North Carolina law now reflects an increased sensitivity to the psychological and emotional harm racially hostile environments can engender and gives Mrs. Patterson the chance to have her day in court on her harassment claim. This Court may reverse the district court's denial of Mrs. Patterson's Rule 60(b)(6) motion to set aside and reopen its 17 ,This Court recognized this fact when it suggested plaintiff file a motion to reopen pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6). 887 F.2d at 485. 38 judgment against her for abuse of discretion. United States v. Williams, 674 F.2d 310, 312 (4th Cir. 1982); Compton v. Alton Steamship Co.. 608 F.2d 96 (4th Cir. 1979). The district court's erroneous exercise of discretion warrants reversal of the court's order denying Mrs. Patterson's motion. The decision of the district court should also be reversed because the court purported to base its decision on the jury's rejection of plaintiff's harassment claim. The district court asserted that the plaintiff was allowed to present her evidence of racial harassment to the jury and that the "verdict adverse to plaintiff on her § 1981 claim indicates that her evidence, as it related to the harassment claim as well, did not ring true to the jury." Slip op. at 3, n. 2. But the jury did not even consider whether there was racial harassment, since the court dismissed Mrs. Patterson's harassment claim after plaintiff completed the presentation of her evidence. Mrs. Patterson has never had the opportunity to bring her racial harassment claim to a jury. The district court's reliance on the jury's prior verdict is thus incorrect as a matter of law and clearly erroneous as a statement of fact. 39 CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, the decision below should be vacated and the case should be remanded to the district court for further discovery and a trial on the merits. Respectfully submitted, Educational Fund, Inc. 1275 K Street, N.W. Suite 301 Washington, D.C. 20005 JULIUS L. CHAMBERS CORNELIA T.L. PILLARD NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. 99 Hudson Street 16th Floor New York, NY 10013 HAROLD LILLARD KENNEDY, III HARVEY LEROY KENNEDY, SR. Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy & Kennedy 710 First Union Building Winston-Salem, NC 27101 June 28, 1990 40 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE This will certify that I have this date served counsel for defendant in this action with true and correct copies of the foregoing Brief of Plaintiff-Appellant, Joint Appendix and the Supplemental Appendix by placing said copies in the U.S. Mail at New York, New York, First-Class postage thereon fully prepaid addressed as follows: George Doughton, Jr., Esq. H. Lee Davis, Jr., Esq. Thomas J. Doughton, Esq. 114 W. Third Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Executed this Jl&A day of June, 1990 at New York, New York. for Plaintiffs-Appellees