Raul Loya v. Desert Sands Unified School District, a Governmental Agency & Harold Schoenfeld

Plaintiff-appellant Raul Loya is a teacher in the Desert Sands Unified School District in California. He sued the district and its superintendent, Harold Schoenfeld, alleging that he was denied promotions in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq., and also in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 . Just before expiration of the 90-day limitation period the plaintiff’s lawyer had attempted to file the complaint, but on paper that was the wrong size as specified by a local rule, and the clerk refused to file it. The district court dismissed the Title VII claim as time barred. The section 1983 claim went to trial, and after an erroneous instruction that it was for the jury to decide whether the first amendment protected certain of the plaintiff’s activities, the jury rendered a verdict for the defendant. We reverse both the dismissal of the Title VII claim and the judgment for the defendant on the section 1983 claim.

Paper Size as a Jurisdictional Requirement

A copy of plaintiff’s complaint arrived at the office of the Clerk for the Central District of California on September 28,1977, within the 90-day limitation period for filing private Title…