Source: cases/42usc1981/f3d-927-81-hu-v-city-of-new-york.case
Case source: https://www.neochart.com/catalog/cases/f3d/volume_927/0081_01/index.html
For the same reasons that we vacate the District Court's dismissal of the plaintiffs' LeClair claims, we vacate its dismissal of the plaintiffs' section 1981 claim for race-based interference with the plaintiffs' rights to make and enforce contracts. As the District Court correctly noted, "plaintiffs must meet the same pleading standard for their § 1981 claims as for their § 1983 claims under the Equal Protection Clause." Brown v. City of Oneonta, New York , 221 F.3d 329, 339 (2d Cir. 2000). Thus, to prevail on a section 1981 claim, a plaintiff must allege at least one instance in which he was treated differently from a similarly situated non-minority. Id. (citing Albert , 851 F.2d at 573 ). The section 1981 standard for determining whether a plaintiff and a comparator are similarly situated is identical to the similarity standard for a LeClair Equal Protection claim. Compare supra at 95-96, with Lizardo , 270 F.3d at 101 ( section 1981 race discrimination claim).
Recognizing these parallels, the District Court dismissed the plaintiffs' section 1981 claim for the same reason that it dismissed their Equal Protection claims, namely, failure to plausibly allege differential treatment of a similarly situated comparator. We now vacate, on that issue, having concluded that the Amended Complaint does, in fact, state an Equal Protection claim under LeClair .
casedsl 1 case /f3d/927/0081-01 name Hu v. City of New York cite 927 F.3d 81 (2019) court United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit date 2019-06-13 url catalog/cases/f3d/volume_927/0081_01/index.html source ir/caselaw/f3d_927.jsonl sha1=e76e41832d96364f6fe79f1579fc1d5d7839bb1d chars=60000 law 42usc1981 role applied posture Rule 12(b)(6) appeal; §1981 comparator-pleading dismissal vacated on same reasoning as race-based selective-enforcement claim; other claims separately addressed. result remanded element racial-intent : satisfied [pleaded] variant circumstantial-proof/same-site-different-race-comparator party Hu, 888 Consulting, and NY Drilling against DOB defendants theory Race-based selective code enforcement fact @1351..1736 [supports] | This action centers primarily on Burkart's "personal vendetta" against Asians in general and Hu in particular. Burkart's racial animus stems from his belief that Asians were responsible for the downfall of a construction company that he owned prior to his employment at DOB. In particular, Burkart blames Asians for undercutting his rates to the point where he could no longer compete. fact @37979..38558 [supports] | The first proffered comparator concerns work conducted at the 34th Avenue Jobsite. Specifically, the plaintiffs allege that Burkart issued them a violation "for having a pool of water" on the 34th Avenue Jobsite. Hu Appx. at A37 ¶ 190. Later, Burkart returned to the location when white workers were performing work on the jobsite. Even though these white workers were also working next to a pool of water, Burkart did not issue them a notice of violation or otherwise interrupt their work. Instead, Burkart reserved "such negative treatment for Asian workers." Id. at A39 ¶ 202. fact @4662..4892 [supports] | According to the plaintiffs' review of building code violations, Burkart issues 63 percent of his violations to Asian-run construction companies, workers, or sites, as compared to between 8 and 28 percent for other DOB inspectors. rule @54759..55737 | For the same reasons that we vacate the District Court's dismissal of the plaintiffs' LeClair claims, we vacate its dismissal of the plaintiffs' section 1981 claim for race-based interference with the plaintiffs' rights to make and enforce contracts. As the District Court correctly noted, "plaintiffs must meet the same pleading standard for their § 1981 claims as for their § 1983 claims under the Equal Protection Clause." Brown v. City of Oneonta, New York , 221 F.3d 329, 339 (2d Cir. 2000). Thus, to prevail on a section 1981 claim, a plaintiff must allege at least one instance in which he was treated differently from a similarly situated non-minority. Id. (citing Albert , 851 F.2d at 573 ). The section 1981 standard for determining whether a plaintiff and a comparator are similarly situated is identical to the similarity standard for a LeClair Equal Protection claim. Compare supra at 95-96, with Lizardo , 270 F.3d at 101 ( section 1981 race discrimination claim). held @55738..56131 | Recognizing these parallels, the District Court dismissed the plaintiffs' section 1981 claim for the same reason that it dismissed their Equal Protection claims, namely, failure to plausibly allege differential treatment of a similarly situated comparator. We now vacate, on that issue, having concluded that the Amended Complaint does, in fact, state an Equal Protection claim under LeClair . gloss The holding is limited to plausible differential treatment of a comparator, with alleged racial animus; it does not adjudicate all conditions of liability. The same-site standing-water comparison survives despite sparse factual detail. This context-specific comparator analysis is not a universal §1981 pleading checklist. Statistics support the alleged racial-bias context but cannot substitute for a specific comparator, as the court explains at 53420..54736; the same-site standing-water comparison independently supplies the required comparator. element own-contract : not-reached variant contract-context/construction-client-loss fact @3275..3685 [supports] | NY Drilling and 888 Consulting have also become targets of Burkart's animosity, due both to their racial composition and to their close ties to Hu. NY Drilling is a construction company that employed Hu until 2015, when Hu formed his own construction company, 888 Consulting. Both NY Drilling and 888 Consulting are owned and controlled by Asians, and they frequently work with each other on construction jobs. fact @6527..7003 [supports] | These and other enforcement actions are taking a financial toll on the plaintiffs. Burkart's violations have burdened the plaintiffs with fines, compliance costs, and legal fees. Clients are firing the plaintiffs due to jobsite delays resulting from DOB audits and stop work orders, and some are suing the plaintiffs for breaches of contract. The plaintiffs are also losing prospective business, because of Hu's reputation as a lightning rod for DOB inspections and sanctions. gloss Employment, company ownership, client losses, and contract suits supply retrieval context, but the court does not independently resolve whose specific contractual rights each plaintiff holds. No automatic shareholder standing is inferred. element state-remedial-route : not-reached gloss State officials and the City are defendants, but the captured §1981 holding addresses only comparator pleading. Availability of a direct remedy versus §1983 is not decided here; Jett and the law file remain applicable. element but-for-causation : not-reached gloss This 2019 pleading decision predates Comcast; it is not an ultimate but-for holding. misfit Canonical IR is capped at 60000 characters. Section1981 analysis is complete at 54737..56131, but the later due-process/municipal discussion and final disposition may be truncated. No uncaptured municipal policy ruling is asserted. Section1981 result is taken from its express vacatur, not inferred from the overall appeal.