Everett-Dicko

MEMORANDUM *

Plaintiffs Shirley Everett-Dicko and E & J BBQ Food Service LLC appeal the dismissal for failure to state a claim of their federal and state law claims against two private parties, Ogden Entertainment Services, Inc. and Bay Area Sports Catering (the “private defendants”) and a political subdivision of the State of California, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority (the “Authority”). Because the facts are familiar to the parties, we recount them only as necessary to explain our decision.

1. The district court erred in dismissing the plaintiffs’ causes of action against the private defendants under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 . The complaint stated that the defendants acted as they did “because of [Everett-Dicko’s] race or color,” as well as “because [the plaintiffs] opposed racial or color discrimination.” The district court held these statements too conclusory to allege adequately an intent to discriminate. Swierkiewicz v. Sorema, 534 U.S. 506 , 122 S.Ct. 992 , 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002), however, recently rejected just such a view of federal pleading requirements as applied to discrimination claims.

Unless a specific exception applies, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure…