Opinion
No. 459, 97-7376.
Argued: October 24, 1997.
Decided: November 5, 1997.
RICHARD J. BERKA, Long Island Railroad Company, Office of General Counsel, Jamaica, New York (Roberta Bender, of counsel), for Defendant-Appellee.
DAVID M. LIRA, Law Office of David M. Lira, Esq., Garden City, New York, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Reena Raggi, Judge), dismissing appellant's complaint for failing to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Appellant sought attorney's fees under Title VII despite not having alleged a violation of Title VII. We affirm.
Mark Paz appeals from Judge Raggi's dismissal of Paz's complaint pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). In February 1996, Paz filed suit under Section 706(k) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. Section(s) 2000e-5(k), for the sole purpose of recovering attorney's fees incurred in successfully pursuing state-law discrimination claims commenced between 1987 and 1991. Those discrimination claims did not allege a violation of Title VII. Paz's claim for attorney's fees did not, therefore, arise from an "action or proceeding under this subchapter," as required by Section 706(k). Accordingly, we affirm for substantially the reasons set forth in Judge Raggi's opinion. Paz v. Long Island R.R. Co., 954 F. Supp. 62 (E.D.N.Y. 1997).