Robinson v. Ergo Solutions, LLC

• Decision Date: 04 March 2014
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 12–147(JDB)
• Citation: 4 F.Supp.3d 171
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia
• Parties: Lori Robinson, Plaintiff, v. Ergo Solutions, LLC, Defendant.

4 F.Supp.3d 171

Lori Robinson, Plaintiff,

v.Ergo Solutions, LLC, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 12–147(JDB)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Signed March 4, 2014

Samuel Bailey, Jr., Samuel Bailey & Associates, Washington, DC, Clifford G. Stewart, Law Office of C. Gregory Stewart, Newark, NJ, for Plaintiff.

Bernard Cecil Coleman, Jr., Law Offices of Bernard C. Coleman, Jr., Oxon Hill, MD, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

JOHN D. BATES, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Lori Robinson (“Robinson”) brings this action against her former employer, Ergo Solutions, LLC (“Ergo”), alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000(e)–2(a)(1). Specifically, Robinson alleges that she was sexually harassed and subjected to a hostile work environment because of her gender. The Clerk has entered a default against Ergo, due to its failure to respond to the complaint. Robinson has filed [8] a motion for default judgment. For the reasons set forth below, the Court will grant the motion, issue a default judgment in favor of Robinson and against Ergo, and award damages in the amount of $20,000.

BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

Ergo “is a private health services company” with offices located in the District of Columbia. Compl. [ECF No. 1] ¶ 5. Robinson, a female citizen of Maryland, alleges that she was “employed at Ergo Solutions ... at all times relevant to this lawsuit.” Id. ¶ 4. She was “initially employed in the position of Outpatient Project Manager,” id. ¶ 6, a position with duties that “included management of the day to day operations of Ergo Solutions staff,” and “billing.” Id. ¶ 7. In that role, Robinson “reported to each of the owners: Olu Ezeani, Courtland Wyatt, Jason Henderson and George Brownlee.” Id.

In 2009, Robinson alleges that one of her direct supervisors (and Ergo's Chief Information Officer and partial owner), Jason Henderson, began treating her inappropriately. He made vulgar sexual remarks at work, like “I see that you haven't lost that ass.” Id. ¶ 8. Robinson was “shocked” by such comments. Id. Henderson “would stare at Ms. Robinson and tell her that he always wanted her around.” Id. In one notable incident, Robinson “was talking to an owner, Mr. George Brownlee about a work issue when Mr. Henderson came to where they were and inserted himself into the conversation.” Id. ¶ 9. When Brownlee left, Henderson “started rubbing Ms. Robinson's legs.” Id. Robinson “did not like him rubbing her legs but she felt that she had no one to complain to because he was an owner.” Id. Henderson allegedly “told her that he was not going to tell anyone and that he did not want his partners to know that he was feeling up an employee.” Id. Although “Robinson was upset by this encounter,” she “did not file a complaint against Mr. Henderson.” Id.

Soon after, Henderson's “personal advances” toward Robinson “became more intense.” Id. ¶ 11. Robinson “did not know why Mr. Henderson was showering her with attention.” Id. Henderson “began to call her on the weekend,” and “one weekend he called her and told her that he had a dream about her and him.” Id. The dream Henderson described to Robinson over the phone “was sexual.” Id.

Later, Henderson asked Robinson “to come to a meeting at a hotel,” where “he made advances toward Ms. Robinson and urged her to go to a room with him.” Id. ¶ 12. The two of them then had sex. Id. Allegedly, “Robinson did not want to have sex with Mr. Henderson but because he was an owner she felt that she could not turn him down and maintain her position at Ergo Solutions.” Id.

Robinson continued to work at Ergo, and Henderson continued to make “sexual advances toward her.” Id. ¶ 15. Henderson also made vulgar remarks about others in Robinson's presence, like “that woman sure does have a big ass,” in reference to someone nearby. Id. Robinson “found his comments to be humiliating and improper,” and they “caused her to lose respect for Mr. Henderson.” Id. During the Christmas holidays in 2009, “Henderson called Ms. Robinson on her cell phone while she was at home and indicated that he wanted to have a meeting with her.” Id. ¶ 19. Robinson “asked him what the meeting was for,” and Henderson responded “that he wanted to have sex with her.” Id. Robinson “was disgusted,” and “informed Mr. Henderson that she was out of town and unavailable to meet with him.” Id.

In March 2010, “Henderson and the other owners obtained an office at the hospital upstairs above the offices” in which Robinson worked. Id. ¶ 16. Henderson “called Ms. Robinson several times and tried to convince her to come upstairs to have sex with him.” Id. Robinson “refused to go to the upstairs office or to have sex with Mr. Henderson in the office.” Id. Then, Henderson “sent Ms. Robinson a text message offering to ‘lick’ her. She felt so uncomfortable that she did not respond to the text messages.” Id.

Henderson “began to refer to Ms. Robinson as his ‘Work Wife.’ ” Id. ¶ 17. Robinson “found this reference to be disgusting and asked Mr. Henderson to stop.” Id. Henderson “did not desist from referring to her this way and wrote this reference on several documents so that Ergo coworkers could see it.” Id.

Robinson “attempted to avoid Mr. Henderson ... refus[ing] to answer his cell phone calls and his pages.” Id. ¶ 20. “She asked her co-workers not to inform Mr. Henderson where she was if he inquired.” Id. Robinson also “asked a co-worker not to leave her alone” when she was at work. Id. ¶ 22. Robinson “acted in a manner to dissuade Mr. Henderson from making any sexual advances toward her.” Id. ¶ 21.

Despite this series of events, Robinson “did not file a complaint of discrimination with Ergo Solutions.” Id. ¶ 24. Robinson “believed it was useless to file a complaint ... and that it would not be properly or seriously handled” by Ergo. Id. She “felt that it would only hurt her employment,” and that the “owners would never find themselves at fault for their conduct and they would never punish one of their own.” Id. Robinson's understanding was that “many other female employees at Ergo Solutions were victims of the same type of abuse, intimidation and humiliation at the hands of various owners.” Id. ¶ 25. This understanding was purportedly informed by the fact that, during a previous investigation of sexual harassment allegations against another one of Ergo's owners, Robinson had been “asked to lie to the investigator by several owners.” Id. ¶ 18. Specifically, Robinson was instructed to “win an academy award” with her false testimony during the investigation. Id.

On the issue of damages, Robinson alleged in her complaint that she has “suffered severe anxiety, stress, pain and humiliation as a result of Mr. Henderson's advances, text messages, calls and visits.” Id. ¶ 26. She “has informed her doctor about Mr. Henderson's advances and has received treatment for stress [and] anxiety.” And Robinson's “doctor has placed her under various medication regimes.” Id. At the damages hearing, Robinson's testimony was generally consistent with the allegations of her complaint. See generally Feb. 19, 2014 Damages Hr'g Tr. (“Tr.”). Her testimony included some description of how Henderson's conduct affected her mental well-being. Dr. Frances Cress Welsing also testified that, in her opinion, Robinson suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, due to the harassment she suffered while working for Ergo. Id. at 23. Robinson presented no evidence of out-of-pocket pecuniary damages.

B. Procedural Background

Robinson filed this action on January 26, 2012, naming Ergo as the only defendant. After some difficulty serving process on Ergo's registered agent—who also happened to be Jason Henderson, the primary alleged wrongdoer in this case—Robinson ultimately served a copy of the summons and complaint on the Corporations Division of the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, which then forwarded the serving documents to the defendant, pursuant to D.C. Code § 29–104.12(d).

Service of process was completed on September 24, 2012, see Aff. for Default [ECF No. 5], and Ergo did not answer or otherwise respond to the complaint. Eventually, Robinson filed an affidavit for default, and the Clerk of the Court entered a default against Ergo on April 12, 2013. See Clerk's Entry of Default [ECF No. 7]. On May 24, 2013, Robinson filed a motion for default judgment. See Pl.'s Mot. for Default J. (“Pl.'s Mot.”) [ECF No. 8]. Robinsonrequested $200,000 in compensatory damages and $200,000 in punitive damages, citing “emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience and mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, ... other nonpecuniary losses,” and “future pecuniary losses.” Id. at 2. Robinson did not support this request with any admissible evidence—just a declaration from counsel restating those same high-level categories of claimed damages. Because the default only established Ergo's liability, and not the amount of damages, the Court entered a Minute Order on November 25, 2013, scheduling a hearing on the issue of damages and inviting Ergo to participate. See Nov. 25, 2013 Minute Order (citing United States v. Bentley, 756 F.Supp.2d 1, 3 (D.D.C.2010) (“Although the default establishes a defendant's liability, the court is required to make an independent determination of the sum to be awarded unless the amount of damages is certain.”)).

After delaying the hearing in order to resolve a series of procedural motions from Ergo (primarily regarding alleged defects in service of process),¹ the Court held the hearing on damages on February 19, 2014. Robinson presented two witnesses: herself, and Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, an expert in psychiatry. Ergo did not present any witnesses,² but did cross-examine Robinson's.

LEGAL STANDARD

A. Title VII Hostile Work Environment

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it “an unlawful employment practice for an employer ... to discriminate against any individual with...