Phyllis S. Stones v. Los Angeles Community College District, Leslie Koltai, and Mary E. Lee

Dr. Phyllis Stones, a highly credentialed and accomplished black woman educator, 1 has made her career in the Los Angeles Community College District (“District”) since 1962. After a brief appointment as an acting dean in charge of resource development at East Los Angeles College — abbreviated by the district-wide abolition of that position in 1978 due to funding cutbacks — Dr. Stones was transferred to Los Angeles Valley College, where she has served as an assistant dean of instruction ever since. Four times between 1978 and 1982, Dr. Stones was passed over for promotion to be a full dean of instruction although her application was on file in the District’s “Deans’ pool” and she believed herself objectively better qualified than the candidates who were chosen as deans.

In this civil rights action filed against the District, its chancellor, and the president of Valley College, Dr. Stones claims that the District’s failure to promote her violated her right to contract under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and her right to civil employment free of racial discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 . To support her right to relief, she makes the following factual claims: (1) the District’s ostensibly…

concurring:

I concur in Judge Norris’ opinion. There were disputed questions of fact here. The district court could have found in favor of Stones on these questions, but it did not do so. It found in favor of the School District and the other named defendants. The result was not clearly erroneous.

796 F.2d 270 41 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 710 , 41 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 36,563 , 33 Ed. Law Rep. 1046 Phyllis S. STONES, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT, Leslie Koltai, and Mary E. Lee, Defendants-Appellees. No. 83-6329. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Dec. 5, 1985. Decided Aug. 1, 1986. Bruce M. Stark, Long Beach, Cal., for plaintiff-appellant. Mary L. Dowell, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Before CHAMBERS, ANDERSON, and NORRIS, Circuit Judges NORRIS, Circuit Judge: 1 Dr. Phyllis Stones, a highly credentialed and accomplished black woman educator, 1 has made her career in the Los Angeles Community College District ("District") since 1962. After a brief appointment as an acting dean in charge of resource development at East Los Angeles College--abbreviated by the district-wide abolition of that position in 1978 due to funding cutbacks--Dr. Stones was transferred to Los Angeles Valley College, where she has served as an assistant dean of instruction ever since. Four times between 1978 and 1982, Dr. Stones was passed over for…