Opinion
Case No. 14 C 9708
03-12-2015
MOHAMMAD RASHAIDA, Plaintiff, v. J. B. HUNT TRANSPORT, INC., Defendant.
MEMORANDUM ORDER
J. B. Hunt Transport, Inc. ("Hunt Transport") has filed its Amended Answer to the Amended Complaint in the employment discrimination lawsuit brought against it by its ex-employee Mohammad Rashaida. This Court's review of that responsive pleading has raised a question calling for an explanation by Hunt Transport's counsel.
Hunt Transport's response to the Amended Complaint includes a lengthy statement in Amended Answer ¶ 3 that in part includes this warning:
Defendant denies that the charge on which this complaint is based was timely filed.Later the Amended Answer is followed by this Affirmative Defense:
By way of Affirmative Defense, Defendant asserts that Plaintiff's claim of discrimination on account of race as set forth in Paragraph 8 is barred for failure to exhaust administrative remedies in that he filed no timely charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging discrimination on account of race.
In view of those two items, this Court's natural question is whether the Amended Answer ¶ 3 denial relates only to the asserted deficiency set out in that Affirmative Defense, in which event nothing further will have to be done at this time, or whether instead the initial denial in Amended Answer ¶ 3 is broader in scope, posing a problem for the lawsuit as such. It would therefore be much appreciated if Hunt Transport's counsel would file a very brief explanatory supplement to its Amended Answer on or before March 23, 2015 to clarify the matter.
/s/_________
Milton I. Shadur
Senior United States District Judge
Date: March 12, 2015