Supreme Court Refuses to Halt Firefighter’s Job-Bias Lawsuit

WASHINGTON —  William Earl Warren III, a firefighter from Carlsbad, Calif., was passed over for a promotion to fire captain, and he thinks he knows why. His lawsuit charged he was discriminated against because he is a Latino. His mother is of Mexican heritage, he said.

City officials said they had no idea he was a Latino. “This was the first time any defendant to this suit knew” of his heritage, they replied. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court on Monday refused the city’s request to kill the lawsuit before a trial.

A coalition of 82 California cities said Warren’s case highlights an upsurge in costly, frivolous discrimination claims. From 1970 to 1990, the number of job-bias suits grew by 22%, they said, and it often costs cities more than $300,000 to defend themselves if the suit goes to trial.

In 1993, U.S. District Judge William B. Enright dismissed Warren’s lawsuit as frivolous and fined the defendant $5,000 for filing the claim. He noted Warren admitted to “intense homicidal ideas” about the fire chief, and this alone was a “legitimate business reason” for denying him a promotion.

However, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals revived the suit last year. “Warren belongs to a protected class because he is of Mexican descent,” it said, and he should have a chance to prove his bias claim. The high court rarely takes up pretrial disputes and refused to hear the case of Carlsbad vs. Warren, 95-481.