Case: EEOC v. FIRESTONE FIBERS AND TEXTILES COMPANY

3:04-cv-00467 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

Filed Date: Sept. 9, 2004

Closed Date: Sept. 13, 2006

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Case Summary

In September 2004, the Charlotte District Office of the EEOC brought this suit against Firestone Fibers & Textiles Company, BFS Diversified Products, LLC, and Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina alleging the defendants discriminated against the charging party on the basis of religion, namely Christianity-Church of the Living God, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the complaint alleged that the defendant failed to accommodate the religious beliefs of the charging party, a male employee, and discharged the charging party because of his religion. The charging party intervened in the lawsuit in December 2004. Following discovery, defendants successfully moved for summary judgment, which was granted in September 2006. The EEOC appealed this decision to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which had not decided the case by the time the docket was captured for research purposes.

Summary Authors

David Friedman (10/11/2007)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5297212/parties/eeoc-v-firestone-fibers/

Judge(s)

Conrad, Robert James (North Carolina)

Judge(s)

Conrad, Robert James (North Carolina)

Attorney Contact Information via CourtListener

Documents in the Clearinghouse

Documents in this case

3:04-cv-00467	Docket (PACER) EEOC v. Firestone Fibers & Textiles Company	Dec. 28, 2006	Dec. 28, 2006 Docket
1 3:04-cv-00467	Complaint EEOC v. Firestone Fibers & Textiles Company	Sept. 9, 2004	Sept. 9, 2004 Complaint
9 3:04-cv-00467	Complaint in Intervention EEOC v. Firestone Fibers & Textiles Company	Dec. 17, 2004	Dec. 17, 2004 Complaint
28 3:04-cv-00467	Order [Regarding Protective Order] EEOC v. Firestone Fibers & Textiles Company	Oct. 12, 2005	Oct. 12, 2005 Order/Opinion
30 3:04-cv-00467	Memorandum and Order [Regarding Summary Judgment] EEOC v. Firestone Fibers & Textiles Company	Sept. 13, 2006	Sept. 13, 2006 Order/Opinion 2006 WL 2620314

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Resources

Resources related to this case
Title	Description		External URL Date / External URL
Under the Radar: Visibility and the Effects of Discrimination Lawsuits in Small and Large Firms Carly Knight, Frank Dobbin, Alexandra Kalev	Research on how discrimination lawsuits affect corporate diversity has yielded mixed results. Qualitative studies highlight the limited efficacy of lawsuits in the typical workplace, finding that lit…	March 2022	April 1, 2022 https://cris.tau.ac.il/...

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Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5297212/eeoc-v-firestone-fibers/

Last updated April 5, 2025, 11:12 a.m.

ECF Number	Date	Description	Link
1	Sept. 9, 2004	COMPLAINT and Jury Trial Demand. (lhg) (Entered: 09/09/2004)	PACER
3	Oct. 21, 2004	WAIVER OF SERVICE Returned Executed as to BFS Diversified 9/16/04 Answer due on 11/15/04 for BFS Diversified (former emp) (Entered: 10/21/2004)	PACER
4	Nov. 15, 2004	MOTION to Intervene by David Wise (bsw) (Entered: 11/16/2004)	PACER
5	Nov. 16, 2004	ANSWER to Complaint by Firestone Fibers, BFS Diversified, Bridgestone Amer Hol (ejb) (Entered: 11/16/2004)	PACER
6	Nov. 16, 2004	CONSENT/REFUSAL to Magistrate Jurisdiction by Firestone Fibers, BFS Diversified, Bridgestone Amer Hol - Refusal (ejb) (Entered: 11/16/2004)	PACER
7	Nov. 16, 2004	CASE reassigned to Judge Graham C. Mullen - notice of reassignment mailed to parties. (ejb) (Entered: 11/16/2004)	PACER
8	Dec. 17, 2004	ORDER granting [4-1] motion to Intervene by David Wise ( signed by Magistrate Judge Carl Horn III ) [EOD DATE: 12/21/04] (former emp) (Entered: 12/21/2004)	PACER
9	Dec. 17, 2004	Intervenor's COMPLAINT by David Wise against Firestone Fibers, BFS Diversified, Bridgestone Amer Hol (former emp) (Entered: 12/21/2004)	PACER
10	Jan. 7, 2005	ANSWER by Firestone Fibers, BFS Diversified, Bridgestone Amer Hol to [9-1] intervenor complaint; w/cs cc: GCM (cbb) (Entered: 01/12/2005)	PACER
11	Jan. 18, 2005	Certificate of I.A.C. and Discovery Plan by plaintiff EEOC, defendant Firestone Fibers, defendant BFS Diversified, defendant Bridgestone Amer Hol, movant David Wise (former emp) (Entered: 01/21/2005)	PACER
12	Jan. 18, 2005	Disclosure of Corporate Affiliations other entities with a direct financial interest in litigation by Firestone Fibers, BFS Diversified, Bridgestone Amer Hol (former emp) (Entered: 01/21/2005)	PACER
13	Jan. 26, 2005	INITIAL PRETRIAL ORDER Discovery deadline is 6/30/05 Motion filing deadline is 8/1/05 Jury Trial set for 10:00 3/6/06 before Judge Graham C. Mullen ( signed by Judge Graham C. Mullen ) (tme) (Entered: 01/26/2005)	PACER
14	March 24, 2005	Amd Certificate of I.A.C. and Discovery Plan by plaintiff EEOC, defendant Firestone Fibers, defendant BFS Diversified, defendant Bridgestone Amer Hol, movant David Wise (bsw) (Entered: 03/29/2005)	PACER
15	April 15, 2005	MOTION & memo in suppt by EEOC, David Wise for Protective Order (dcap) (Entered: 04/15/2005)	PACER
16	May 2, 2005	RESPONSE to Motion re 15 Motion for Protective Order filed by Firestone Fibers & Textiles Company, a Division of BFS Diversified Products. (Cochran, Candace) (Entered: 05/03/2005)	PACER
17	May 12, 2005	NOTICE of intent not to file reply by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, David Wise re 15 Motion for Protective Order filed by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, David Wise. (Wallace, Betsy) (Entered: 05/17/2005)	PACER
	June 16, 2005	Case reassigned to Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. Judge Graham Mullen no longer assigned to the case. (Wallace, Betsy) (Entered: 06/16/2005)	PACER
19	Aug. 1, 2005	MEMORANDUM in Support re 18 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by Firestone Fibers & Textiles Company, a Division of BFS Diversified Products, BFS Diversified Products, LLC, Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc.. (Wallace, Betsy) (Entered: 08/03/2005)	PACER
20	Aug. 1, 2005	Appendix by Firestone Fibers & Textiles Company, a Division of BFS Diversified Products, BFS Diversified Products, LLC, Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc.. (complete appendix not scanned - see case file) (Attachments: # 1 Appendix - Part 2)(Wallace, Betsy) (Entered: 08/03/2005)	PACER
	Aug. 1, 2005	Motions No Longer Referred: 18 MOTION for Summary Judgment (Wallace, Betsy) (Entered: 07/17/2006)	PACER
21	Aug. 11, 2005	MOTION for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply to 8/22/05 as to 18 MOTION for Summary Judgment by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, David Wise. Responses due by 8/25/2005 (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Evans, Tammy) (Entered: 08/15/2005)	PACER
22	Aug. 19, 2005	RESPONSE to Motion re 18 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by David Wise. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit # 2 Exhibit)(Cochran, Candace) (Entered: 08/24/2005)	PACER
23	Aug. 19, 2005	MEMORANDUM in Opposition re 18 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (Huntley, Cynthia) (Entered: 08/26/2005)	PACER
	Aug. 26, 2005	CASE REFERRED to Magistrate Judge David Keesler. (Wallace, Betsy) (Entered: 08/26/2005)	PACER
24	Aug. 29, 2005	REPLY to Response to Motion re 18 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by Firestone Fibers & Textiles Company, a Division of BFS Diversified Products. (Cochran, Candace) (Entered: 08/31/2005)	PACER
25	Aug. 31, 2005	ORDER granting 21 Motion for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply re 18 MOTION for Summary Judgment Responses due by 8/22/2005. Signed by Judge David Keesler on 8/31/05. (Wallace, Betsy) (Entered: 09/01/2005)	PACER
26	Sept. 8, 2005	ORDER, Set/Reset Deadlines as to 15 Motion for Protective Order. Motion Hearing set for 10/11/2005 11:00 AM in Charlotte Magistrate Courtroom before David Keesler.. Signed by Judge David Keesler on 9/8/05. (Huntley, Cynthia)	RECAP
27	Oct. 3, 2005	NOTICE of Hearing on Motion 15 Motion for Protective Order: Motion Hearing set for 10/11/2005 09:30 AM in Courtroom #1, 401 W. Trade St., Charlotte, NC 28202 before David Keesler. (Anderton, Michelle) (Entered: 10/03/2005)	PACER
	Oct. 11, 2005	Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge David Keesler : Motion Hearing held on 10/11/2005 re 15 Motion for Protective Order filed by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,, David Wise,. (Court Reporter Betty Brown w/Huesby.) (Anderton, Michelle) (Entered: 10/11/2005)	PACER
	Jan. 30, 2006	Proposed document submitted to Judge Robert Conrad. (Tisdale, Homer) (Entered: 01/30/2006)	PACER
29	Feb. 3, 2006	ORDER suspending deadlines contained in the scheduling order. Trial deadline terminated.. Signed by Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. on 2/3/06. (Huntley, Cynthia)	RECAP
30	Sept. 13, 2006	ORDER granting 18 Motion for Summary Judgment and dismissing Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc.. Signed by Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr on 9/13/06. (chh)	RECAP
31	Sept. 13, 2006	CLERK'S JUDGMENT entered in accordance with the Court's September 13, 2006 Order. Signed on 9/13/06. (chh)	RECAP
32	Nov. 9, 2006	NOTICE OF APPEAL by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (Haden, Kara) (Entered: 11/09/2006)	PACER
33	Nov. 9, 2006	Transmission of Notice of Appeal to US Court of Appeals re 32 Notice of Appeal (smj) (Entered: 11/09/2006)	PACER
34	Nov. 14, 2006	USCA Case Number 06-2203 for 32 Notice of Appeal. USCA Case Manager: Lisa Jernigan. (com) (Entered: 11/21/2006)	PACER
35	Nov. 14, 2006	Docketed on wrong docket - ORDER of USCA (com) Modified on 12/13/2006 (Wallace, Betsy). (Entered: 11/21/2006)	PACER
36	Nov. 22, 2006	Subsequent NOTICE OF APPEAL as to 31 Clerk's Judgment, 30 Order on Motion for Summary Judgment by David Wise. Filing fee $ 455, receipt number 264976. (Rowan, Vicki) (Entered: 11/22/2006)	PACER
37	Nov. 27, 2006	Transmission of Notice of Appeal to US Court of Appeals re 36 Subsequent Notice of Appeal (smj) (Entered: 11/27/2006)	PACER
	Nov. 27, 2006	Assembled Electronic Record Transmitted to Fourth Circuit. Original. (bsw) (Entered: 11/27/2006)	PACER
38	Nov. 29, 2006	USCA Case Number 06-2241 for 36 Subsequent Notice of Appeal USCA Case Manager: Lisa Jernigan. (cbb) (Entered: 11/29/2006)	PACER
39	Nov. 29, 2006	ORDER of USCA as to 32 Notice of Appeal, 36 Subsequent Notice of Appeal consolidating cases 06-2203 and 06-2241 for purposes of briefing and oral argument and adopts for these appeals the briefing order previously filed in 06-2203 dated 11/21/06 (cbb) (Entered: 11/29/2006)	PACER
	Dec. 13, 2006	NOTICE of ECF Filing Error re: 35 Order - USCA Docketed on wrong case in error NO ACTION REQUIRED - FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. (bsw) (Entered: 12/13/2006)	PACER
40	Dec. 28, 2006	NOTICE of Change of Address by Homer Bernard Tisdale, III (Tisdale, Homer) (Entered: 12/28/2006)	PACER

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Case Details

State / Territory:

North Carolina

Case Type(s):

Equal Employment

Special Collection(s):

EEOC Study — in sample

Multi-LexSum (in sample)

Key Dates

Filing Date: Sept. 9, 2004

Closing Date: Sept. 13, 2006

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on behalf of one or more workers.

Plaintiff Type(s):

EEOC Plaintiff

Private Plaintiff

Attorney Organizations:

EEOC

Public Interest Lawyer: Yes

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

Private Entity/Person

BFS Diversified Products, LLC

Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc.

Firestone Fibers & Textiles Company

Case Details

Causes of Action:

Title VII (including PDA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e

Other Dockets:

Western District of North Carolina 3:04-cv-00467

Available Documents:

Any published opinion

Complaint (any)

Trial Court Docket

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Defendant

Relief Granted:

None

Source of Relief:

None

Issues

Discrimination Area:

Accommodation / Leave

Discharge / Constructive Discharge / Layoff

Disparate Treatment

Discrimination Basis:

Religion discrimination

EEOC-centric:

Direct Suit on Merits

Private Party intervened in EEOC suit

Recommended Citation

Case Summary of EEOC v. FIRESTONE FIBERS AND TEXTILES COMPANY, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, http://www.dev.clearinghouse.net/case/9246/ (last updated 10/11/2007).