CCI Environmental, Inc. v. City of St Louis ( 2020 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION CCI ENVIRONMENT, INC., et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) Case No. 4:19-CV-3099 NAB ) CITY OF ST. LOUIS, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) MEMORANDUM AND ORDER OF DISMISSAL This matter is before the Court on Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss and Plaintiffs’ Motion to Drop Individual Parties. [Docs. 6, 8.] Plaintiffs CCI Environmental, Inc., Advanced Environmental Services, Inc., D.W. Mertzke Excavating & Trucking, Inc., Global Environmental, Inc., and Premier Demolition, Inc. are suing the City of St. Louis, the St. Louis Airport Authority, and St Louis Airport Authority employees Amber Gooding, Phil Fingerhut, Harry Moore, Steve Louis, and Vladimir Monroe for discriminating against them on the basis of race, color, and national origin by denying renewal of their Minority Business Enterprise certifications. Plaintiffs allege discrimination in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d and disparate treatment in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause. Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss the individual Defendants and the St. Louis Airport Authority accompanied by a Memorandum of Law in Support. [Docs. 6, 7.] Plaintiffs responded by filing a Motion to Drop Individual Parties. [Doc. 8.] Therefore, the Court will grant Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss regarding individual Defendants Phil Fingerhut, Harry Moore, Steve Louis, and Vladimir Monroe. Next, Defendants seek dismissal of the St. Louis Airport Authority. Defendants assert that St. Louis Airport Authority, a division of the City of St. Louis, is not a suable entity. Plaintiffs did not respond to the Defendants’ argument regarding dismissal of the St. Louis Airport Authority. Departments or subdivisions of a city government are not suable entities. Ketchum vy. City of West Memphis, Arkansas, 974 F.2d 81, 82 (1992). Because Plaintiffs have not denied that the St. Louis Airport Authority is a subdivision of the City of St. Louis, the Court will grant Defendants’ motion to dismiss. Accordingly, IT IS HERBY ORDERED that Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED. [Doc. 6.] IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion to Dismiss Individual Defendants is GRANTED. [Doc. 8.] IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants Amber Gooding, Phil Fingerhut, Harry Moore, Steve Louis, Vladimir Monroe, and the St. Louis Airport Authority are DISMISSED from this action. We 4 □□□ NANNETTE A. BAKER UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE Dated this 11th day of March, 2020.