Yale Must Face Black Contractor’s Suit for Racism During Meeting

Yale University must face a claim that it intentionally inflicted emotional distress when a supervisor expressed negative racial stereotypes to a Black contractor during their meeting.

Contractor Todd Howell and his business, New England Snow & Ice Management LLC, entered into a contract with Yale to provide snow and ice removal services in 2019. After meeting Joseph Signore, the university’s supervisor of landscaping and maintenance services, Howell alleges Signore “expressed his dislike of minority contractors and employees in general, naming other Black contractors by name,” then refused to honor their contract.

Yale sought to dismiss Howell’s emotional distress claims, as ...