Lambert v. Fulton County Georgia, No. 00-14272

• Decision Date: 06 June 2001
• Docket Number: No. 00-14272
• Parties: (11th Cir. 2001) CHESTER L. LAMBERT, III, WILLIAM E. MOWREY, et. al., Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, ROBERT J. REGUS, et. al., Defendants-Appellants
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 588

253 F.3d 588 (11th Cir. 2001)

CHESTER L. LAMBERT, III, WILLIAM E. MOWREY, et. al., Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, ROBERT J. REGUS, et. al., Defendants-Appellants.

No. 00-14272

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

June 6, 2001

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. D.C. Docket No. 97-01243-CV-TWT-1

Before BLACK and MARCUS, Circuit Judges, and HANCOCK^*, District Judge.

HANCOCK, District Judge:

Fulton County, Georgia appeals final jury verdicts awarding separately to three plaintiffs, Chester L. Lambert, William E. Mowrey, and James M. Heath, back pay and $300,000 compensatory damages on their separate Title VII claims against Fulton County asserting that disparate discipline was administered to them by Fulton County because they are white. Robert J. Regus appeals final jury verdicts awarding separately to the three plaintiffs $50,000 compensatory damages and $225,000 punitive damages on their respective 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims against Regus asserting that Regus denied them their Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection and their rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Michael Cooper appeals final jury verdicts awarding separately to the three plaintiffs $50,000 compensatory damages and $225,000 punitive damages on their respective 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims against Cooper asserting that Cooper denied them their Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection and their rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1981.

Appellants Fulton County, Regus, and Cooper raise two common issues on appeal, sufficiency of the evidence to support each verdict and whether the district court erred in denying motions for a new trial. Appellants Regus and Cooper also raise two additional issues common to them, whether they were entitled to qualified immunity and whether the district court erred in denying their motions for judgment as a matter of law on the punitive damages claims or, alternatively, failing to reduce the amount of punitive damages awarded. Because there was sufficient evidence to support the several jury verdicts, including the amount awarded as punitive damages, and because Regus and Cooper were not entitled to qualified immunity, we affirm.

I. Factual Background

Appellants-Defendants are Fulton County, Georgia; Robert J. Regus, who at all relevant times was County Manager for Fulton County with supervisory authority over all employees of Fulton County; and Michael G. Cooper, who at all relevant times was Director of Fulton County's Department of Contract Compliance and Equal Employment Opportunity ("EEO office") with responsibility for investigating discrimination complaints and recommending corrective action. Cooper reported directly to Regus. At all relevant times, Appellees-Plaintiffs Chester Lambert, William Mowrey and James Heath were all employees of Fulton County working at the Big Creek Water Treatment Facility. As discussed below, Appellees alleged that the Appellants unlawfully discriminated against them by disciplining them on the basis of their race (white). Regus is white; Cooper is black.

Appellee Lambert began his employment with Fulton County in 1975, and during 1995 and 1996, the relevant time frame for this case, he held the position of Civil Engineer III and was responsible for the North Fulton water system and maintenance. Appellee Mowrey began his employment with Fulton County in 1989 and in 1995 was Area Construction Supervisor, Operations Manager and was responsible for sewer lines in the South Fulton and North Fulton waste water treatment facilities. Appellee Heath began his employment with Fulton County in December of 1988, and in 1995 he became acting supervisor at Big Creek. By virtue of the positions they held, all Appellees were responsible for responding to employee complaints of racial harassment. In 1995, Lambert reported to Frank Bockman (the Deputy Director of the Department of Public Works), Mowrey reported to Lambert, and Heath reported to Mowrey.

The crux of Appellees' allegations is that race was a factor in the disciplining of Appellees for failing to effectively deal with a hostile work environment at Big Creek. The Appellees admitted at trial that a hostile work environment existed at Big Creek because of numerous racial incidents that occurred there in 1995 and 1996 which resulted in formal charges of discrimination being filed by two Big Creek employees on January 26, 1996 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC").¹ From March until May of 1996, Cooper and another Fulton County EEO office member were in charge of conducting an investigation on behalf of the EEO office and responding to the EEOC charges filed. Cooper conducted interviews and investigated the situation, and on April 29, 1996, submitted his first report to Regus. In that report, Cooper concluded that the Department of Public Works was guilty of allowing racial discrimination to occur and he recommended disciplining supervisors and management officials under Article 21 of the Fulton County Personnel Regulations. On May 1, 1996, the County Attorney for Fulton County issued a letter to Cooper and Regus criticizing Cooper's April 29 report as "replete with hearsay" and finding that no action could be taken on the basis of that report "without violating the rights of various employees of Fulton County." After reviewing the County Attorney's letter, Regus asked Cooper to provide another report to include names of the employees who were responsible for the racial harassment.

On May 3, 1996, Cooper submitted a revised report accusing six white employees, identified by race and name and including the three Appellees, of various policy violations including engaging in discrimination and allowing discrimination to continue in the Department of Public Works. Cooper's May 3 report recommended "immediate disciplinary action" but did not advocate that any particular individuals be disciplined. After "painstakingly analyz[ing]" Cooper's May 3 report, Robert Regus, in a letter dated May 23, 1996, expressed concern that Cooper's "conclusions were not substantiated by facts, and efforts were not made to interview all persons who may have knowledge of the allegations." The May 23 letter also criticized Cooper's "conscious decision . . . to selectively include certain facts while excluding other facts" including "steps taken by Mr. Bockman and others to respond to complaints of racial harassment at Big Creek." Regus also expressed concern that Cooper behaved in an "unprofessional, rude, accusatory [manner] and demonstrated personal bias" when asked to defend his report during a meeting held on May 15, 1996 between Cooper, Regus, Bockman, and the County Attorney. During the course of that meeting, Cooper told Bockman that "he was looking at [the situation] from a white man's perspective and that he (Bockman) should look at it from the perspective of a black man who has had to work for a white man all of his life." The May 23 letter criticized Cooper for being "emotionally involved" and issued an official warning and reprimand to Cooper concerning the performance of his duties. Cooper was directed to complete a course of training in investigation and report writing. Cooper admitted at trial that he left out certain relevant facts, including the Appellees' written statements detailing their efforts to stop the hostile environment at Big Creek.² On the same day that Cooper submitted his May 3 report, Cooper filed a Position Statement on behalf of Fulton County in response to the charges filed on January 26, 1996 with the EEOC . The Position Statement stated that the Appellees "took all reasonable steps necessary to discover the perpetrators and to protect the Charging Party from any alleged racially hostile environment." Cooper agreed at trial that the Position Statement was contradictory to the accusations in his May 3 report.

From March until May of 1996, Bockman and Mozell Acey (black)³ conducted a contemporaneous investigation into the incidents at Big Creek on behalf of the Department of Public Works. Bockman and Acey interviewed all relevant witnesses and held meetings with employees to instruct them not to engage in racial or other harassment and to report harassment to management. The investigation did not conclusively reveal who was responsible for the racial harassment. Acey completed a report and expressed concern that managers and supervisors had no clear guidelines for handling an inflammatory situation; Acey recommended training for all employees on workplace diversity. Acey did not find fault with the Appellees' actions and did not recommend disciplinary action. After reviewing Acey's findings, Regus directed Bockman to prepare a report and with the help of Acey, Bockman submitted a report on May 14, 1996 containing documentation of his investigation and the Appellees' responses to the racial incidents. Bockman's report catalogued evidence refuting Cooper's allegations, criticized both of Cooper's reports, and requested that Cooper withdraw his May 3 memorandum. Bockman's report expressed concern about Cooper's "false accusations" and found no fault on the part of the Appellees.

On May 13, 1996, Regus forwarded Cooper's May 3 report to the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and stated that he had "reviewed" the memorandum with the County Attorney, but Regus did not comment on the substance of Cooper's report. Regus did not forward Bockman's report to the Board. Regus informed the Commissioners that the media had requested a copy of the report and that at 5:00 p.m. on May 13, Cooper's report would be released to Channel 2 in accordance with provisions of the Open Records Act. The Appellees were allowed to submit written responses to Cooper's final May 3 report. On May 17, 1996, Bockman forwarded to Regus responses from Mowrey, Heath, and Lambert in order to "make certain [Regus] was aware of [their] responses....