Branch v. Guilderland Central School Dist.

• Decision Date: 10 January 2003
• Docket Number: No. 02-CV-218.,02-CV-218.
• Citation: 239 F.Supp.2d 242
• Parties: Bernard BRANCH, Plaintiff, v. GUILDERLAND CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT and Paul Pristera, in his individual and official capacity, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York

Page 242

239 F.Supp.2d 242

Bernard BRANCH, Plaintiff, v. GUILDERLAND CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT and Paul Pristera, in his individual and official capacity, Defendants.

No. 02-CV-218.

United States District Court, N.D. New York.

January 10, 2003.

Deily, Dautel & Mooney, LLP, Attorney for Plaintiff, Albany, Lisa Joslin, Esq.

Thuillez, Ford, Gold & Johnson, Attorney for Defendant Paul Pristera, Albany, Richard A. Kohn, Esq.

Hancock & Estabrook, LLP, Attorney for Defendant Guilderland School District, Syracuse, Renee L. James, Esq., John Monahan, Esq., Of Counsel.

MEMORANDUM-DECISION and ORDER

HURD, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff, Bernard Branch ("plaintiff), brought suit against defendants, Guilderland Central School District ("school district") and Paul Pristera ("Pristera"), in both his individual and official capacity, alleging eight causes of action.¹ Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), the school district has moved to dismiss plaintiffs first and second causes of action, and Pristera has moved to dismiss plaintiffs fifth cause of action.² Those causes of action, as asserted in the Amended Complaint, allege the following:

In his first cause of action, plaintiff alleges, as against the school district, retaliation for his complaining of Pristera's workplace conduct and for plaintiffs filing of administrative charges, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e.

In his second cause of action, plaintiff alleges, as against the school district, retaliation for his exercise of freedom of speech rights and for his filing of administrative charges, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

In his fifth cause of action, plaintiff alleges, as against Pristera, retaliation for his exercise of freedom of speech rights, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

The parties have fully briefed the relevant issues, and oral argument was heard on October 25, 2002, in Albany, New York. Decision was reserved.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Taken from plaintiffs amended complaint, as is required when disposing of motions made pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the following comprise the facts essential to disposing of defendants' motions.

In September of 1994, plaintiff began working for the school district as a Bus Driver Substitute and then, beginning a month later, as a Bus Driver. In September of 1995, he was appointed to the position of Vehicle & Traffic § 19-A School Bus Trainee ("19-A position"). Beginning in 1996, Pristera, who was the school district's Transportation Director, in the presence of plaintiff and others, began making crude and offensive, sexually explicit, gender-based comments about his female charges. During the summer and fall of that same year, plaintiff voiced his complaints about Pristera's behavior to Christine Sagendorf ("Sagendorf), the school district's Assistant Transportation Supervisor. He also discussed the topic with several co-employees, and with an attorney from the transportation employees' bargaining unit.

Plaintiff alleges that the retaliation against him began in October of 1997, when Pristera, after learning of the complaint, denied him access to files he needed to update and maintain in conjunction with his 19-A position, unless he had special permission from Karen Roennpagel ("Roennpagel"), the school district's Head Trainer. That same month, plaintiffs union representative met with Pristera to discuss the issue. Pristera told the union representative that plaintiff had lodged a harassment complaint against him, and that the access denial orders came from Blaise Salerno ("Salerno") and Bill Adams ("Adams"), the school district Superintendent and Human Resources Administrator, respectively.

The following month, plaintiff and a union representative met with Salerno, Adams, Pristera, and a school district attorney to discuss the issue further. Salerno claimed ignorance of any orders denying plaintiff access to the 19-A office and files, and said he would investigate the matter. When asked by a union representative why he had claimed the orders came from Salerno, Pristera remained silent. By letter dated one day later, Salerno granted plaintiff access to the 19-A office and files, and informed him he would be under the supervision of Roennpagel. Plaintiff alleges Pristera and Roennpagel nonetheless continued to deny him access to the office and files.

In December of 1997, plaintiff alleges that Pristera and others conspired to convince another employee to file a sexual harassment charge against him. Plaintiff claims Pristera and Roennpagel summoned one of plaintiffs trainees, Louise Kosakowski ("Kosakowski"), to the transportation office to discuss plaintiffs job performance. Plaintiff claims Kosakowski told him of the meeting, that she offered a positive appraisal of his job performance and that it was her belief that "it was obvious they just wanted to dig something up on you." (Amended Complaint, ¶ 26). That same month, Adams met with two school district bus aides, informing them that a sexual harassment complaint would be lodged against plaintiff. According to plaintiff, both women responded in the negative when asked if plaintiff had sexually harassed them. On December 24, 1997, Kosakowski filed a sexual harassment complaint against plaintiff.

On January 5, 1998, "plaintiff stated to defendant Pristera that if he was not permitted to perform the duties of 19-A trainer [by being granted access to the 19-A office and files] then he should resign from the position." (Amended Complaint, H 29). The next day, plaintiff claims Pristera told him that if he wanted to resign, he would need to submit a written resignation to Adams. The next day, January 7, 1998, plaintiff informed Pristera he would not resign his 19-A position. Pristera allegedly responded by telling plaintiff the situation would need to be discussed with Adams.

On January 14, 1998, plaintiff met with a union lawyer to discuss Pristera's conduct. According to plaintiff, the union lawyer told him that the Pristera's behavior had been reported to the school district on a number of occasions, but that no action had been taken. Plaintiff claims the lawyer suggested he talk with his co-employees to ascertain their willingness to file complaints against Pristera, which plaintiff did.

On February 2, 1998, Adams informed plaintiff the school district had accepted his "verbal resignation" from the 19-A position in lieu of terminating him from the same. (Amended Complaint, H 32). Plaintiff retained his Bus Driver position. Two days later, plaintiff filed a Notice of Claim with the school district.

On February 9, 1998, plaintiff was interviewed by Adams regarding Kosakowski's sexual harassment complaint. Plaintiff claims Adams told him the complaint was based on plaintiff complimenting Kosakowski on her weight loss, and telling her that his marriage and home life was troubled. Plaintiff denied the allegations, informed Adams he had never been alone with Kosakowski, that she had recently given him gifts for his home and for his niece, and that, if anything, Kosakowski had made sexually offensive remarks in the workplace. Some time later, plaintiff was informed that the investigation was "inconclusive." (Amended Complaint, ¶ 135).

On February 18, 1998, two weeks after the Notice of Claim was filed, another complaint was filed against plaintiff, this time by one of the alleged conspirators, Roennpagel. The complaint alleged "harassment, sexual harassment, slander and defamation of character." (Amended Complaint, 1136). Investigation into this complaint also resulted in an inconclusive finding.

A week later, plaintiff was interviewed by several administrators, including Adams, regarding his complaint about Pristera's workplace conduct. Though plaintiff informed his interviewers that the conduct had worsened since the complaint, the school district later determined plaintiffs complaint to be "unfounded." (Amended Complaint, ¶ 38).

Almost four months later, on June 11, 1998,³ a union attorney filed an administrative charge of discrimination with the New York State Division of Human Rights ("DHR") on plaintiffs behalf. The charge alleges Pristera and the school district engaged in "an unlawful discriminatory practice ... because of Opposing Discrimination." (Docket No. 26, Exhibit B). The charge details Pristera's allegedly improper workplace comments, union complaints about such behavior, plaintiffs January 14, 1998, meeting with a union attorney and the advice given therein, the denial of access to the 19-A office and files, his termination from that position, the filing of his Notice of Claim, an allegation that Pristera conspired with others to falsely accuse him of sexual harassment, and a plea to consolidate his complaint with those of others that have or will file similar charges.⁴ Just over a week later, plaintiff received a negative performance evaluation from Pristera.

A few months later, on September 10, 1998, plaintiff received a disciplinary notice from Pristera for failing to report to work for an early school dismissal. A union official challenged this as erroneous, saying it was clearly a scheduling error on the school district's part, but Adams refused to remove the notice from plaintiffs file.

In November of 1998, Kosakowski allegedly told plaintiff that her filing a sexual harassment charge against him "was all [Pristera's] idea," and that she was sorry. (Amended Complaint, ¶ 42). After being asked to put said apology in writing, Kosakowski hesitated, telling plaintiff that Pristera and Roennpagel had pressured her to file the complaint, and that they told her the investigation would be "informal." (Amended Complaint, ¶ 43). She then allegedly admitted to plaintiff, in front of another employee, that her complaint was false, and that school district officials had told her plaintiff was having difficulties with his marriage and home life. Plaintiff told Kosakowski that Adams had told...