Conitz vs. Teck Alaska Incorporated

Before the Court are Plaintiff Gregg Conitz and Defendant Teck Alaska Incorporated (“Teck”) with what amount to cross-motions for summary judgment. At Docket 49, Conitz requests a permanent injunction against Teck’s shareholder employment preference on the grounds that it violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The issuance of such an injunction would require this Court to essentially dispose of all the legal issues presented in this case, so the Court will treat it as a motion for summary judgment. Teck files its own motion for summary judgment at Docket 57, arguing that the shareholder preference does not violate Title VII and that, in any event, Conitz has no standing to make a Title VII claim because he was not qualified for the promotion which he sought in 2008.Having reviewed the voluminous briefs submitted by the parties, the Court concludes that oral argument is neither necessary nor warranted.Conitz is a Teck employee working at the Red Dog mine, which Teck operates in cooperation with co-Defendant NANA Regional Corporation (“NANA”), an Alaska Native corporation created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA). Conitz claims that he has been continually passed over for promotion because of Teck’s policy of favoring NANA shareholders in hiring. According to Conitz, the policy is racially discriminatory because the vast majority of NANA shareholders are Alaska Natives. According to the Shareholder Records Manager for NANA, out of 12,264 total shareholders, there are 69 who are not Alaska Natives who have obtained shares through inheritance.[1]

‍

Adds precedent that influences how ANCSA corporations, regulators, and shareholders interpret governance rights and remedies.