Dixon v. Gonzales

Citation481 F.3d 324
Decision Date14 March 2007
Docket NumberNo. 05-2216.,05-2216.
PartiesJames DIXON, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Alberto GONZALES, United States Attorney General and Robert S. Mueller, III, FBI Director, Defendants-Appellees.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (6th Circuit)

ARGUED: Benjamin Whitfield, Jr., Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant. William L. Woodard, Assistant United States Attorney, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Benjamin Whitfield, Jr., Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant. William L. Woodard, Assistant United States Attorney, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellees.

Before MOORE and COLE, Circuit Judges; MARBLEY, District Judge.*

OPINION

ALGENON L. MARBLEY, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff-Appellant James Dixon, Jr. ("Dixon") appeals the district court's order granting summary judgment for Defendant-Appellee Alberto Gonzales, sued in his official capacity as Attorney General of the United States and Defendant-Appellee Robert S. Mueller, III, sued in his official capacity as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") (collectively, the "Attorney General"). Dixon alleges that he was denied reinstatement as a Special Agent with the FBI as a result of unlawful retaliation by a former supervisor, about whose racially discriminatory conduct Dixon had previously complained.

After this Court reversed and remanded the district court's initial order dismissing the case, Dixon v. Ashcroft, 392 F.3d 212 (6th Cir.2004) ("Dixon I"), the Attorney General brought a second motion for summary judgment arguing that Dixon had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies and that Dixon had failed to establish a prima facie case of retaliation. The district court rejected the Attorney General's failure-to-exhaust argument but granted summary judgment on the grounds that Dixon did not establish a prima facie case. For the reasons set forth herein, we AFFIRM the district court's judgment.

II. BACKGROUND

James Dixon, Jr. is an African-American male who worked as a Special Agent for the FBI's Detroit field office between 1978 and 1988. Between 1981 and 1982, Dixon served as the Applicant Coordinator for the Detroit office's Applicant Program. In this position, Dixon was responsible for all aspects of recruiting new agents to the FBI for the Detroit office.

From November 1981 to February 1982, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Robert

Reutter oversaw the Applicant Program, and directly supervised Dixon's work. Dixon alleges that Reutter exhibited racial animus towards him and Henry Glaspie, Dixon's colleague and assistant in managing the Applicant Program, who is also African-American. For instance, Dixon testified that Reutter expressed concern to him and Glaspie about two African-American agents running the Applicant Program and, therefore, required them to report their work-related activities on a weekly basis. Reutter also allegedly stated that he did not want the three-person boards that interviewed prospective new agents to consist of three African-American agents when minority applicants were being interviewed. Dixon also testified that while Reutter was "jovial and social" with white agents, he was "chilling and cold" to him, that Reutter condescended to African-American agents, and that he treated African-American agents as though he thought they were incompetent.

In December 1981, Dixon complained about Reutter's discriminatory behavior to Special Agent in Charge Anthony Davis, who is also African-American. According to Dixon, Davis said that Dixon's allegations about Reutter concerned him and that he would take care of the problem. In February 1982, Davis relieved Reutter of his position overseeing the Applicant Program and Davis himself took over those duties. The Attorney General concedes that Reutter's dismissal from the Applicant Program was "apparently as a result of Dixon's complaints."

In approximately June 1982, Dixon transferred from the Applicant Program to the White Collar Crime unit. A few months later, in November 1982, Reutter became the head of the White Collar Crime unit and remained in that post until he left the Detroit field office in 1986. During this period, Reutter and Dixon did not have direct contact, but Reutter was Dixon's second-line supervisor. As part of his responsibilities, Reutter reviewed the annual performance evaluations prepared by Dixon's immediate supervisor and approved them. Dixon testified that Reutter had the authority either to approve or disapprove of these performance evaluations. During his tenure in the White Collar Crime unit, Dixon testified that his evaluations were always favorable, and included ratings of "superior" and "excellent."

In 1988, Dixon resigned from the FBI to assist his wife in a business venture. In 1991, Dixon applied for reinstatement. The FBI initiated the reinstatement process by interviewing Dixon and references provided by Dixon as "friends or acquaintances employed by the FBI," which included Carey Thornton ("Thornton"), John Anthony ("Anthony"), and Larry Kuhl ("Kuhl").

The FBI interviewed Anthony, and he recommended against reinstating Dixon. Anthony based his negative review on an alleged incident that occurred in the early 1980s, when Dixon was assigned to applicant recruitment in Detroit, and Anthony was the principal FBI-Detroit legal advisor. The two men, along with Special Agent Robert Nelson ("Nelson"), sat on an interview panel together. Dixon was the lead interviewer on this panel and was responsible for submitting the panel's opinion of the interviewee.

As Anthony recalled the incident, the panel voted to reject a minority applicant, but Dixon subsequently changed the results to a favorable determination without Nelson's or Anthony's permission or knowledge. According to Anthony, he confronted Dixon, and Dixon acknowledged that he had changed the rating, and apologized. Because of the incident, however, Anthony questioned Dixon's integrity and honesty, opining that Dixon was not sufficiently trustworthy to work for the FBI.

Given this incident, Bureau investigators also interviewed Nelson. Nelson essentially conveyed to investigators what they heard from Anthony, although Nelson added that, when it happened, he reported Dixon's conduct to then Assistant Special Agent in Charge Reutter. Apparently, a formal report of the incident was never made, as evidenced by the fact that Dixon's personnel file with the FBI contained no mention of it. In Nelson's opinion, the FBI would make a "grave mistake" by rehiring Dixon because Nelson believed Dixon lacked integrity and fidelity, and could not be trusted.

The FBI then contacted Reutter and asked for his views on whether Dixon should be reinstated. By 1992, when he was solicited for his opinion, Reutter was serving as Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia division. Reutter recalled that two agents had accused Dixon of changing an applicant's score, and he recalled that Dixon had admitted doing so. Based upon this incident and Reutter's recollection that Dixon had poor work habits, a poor work ethic, and little enthusiasm for his job during his early years with the FBI, Reutter described Dixon's efforts as mediocre at best and recommended against reinstating Dixon.

Another of Dixon's former supervisors, David Ries ("Ries"), supervised him in 1987 and 1988, and Ries' opinion was that Dixon demonstrated a lack of commitment, although Ries believed Dixon was capable of performing his duties. Ries also questioned Dixon's dedication and refused to make a recommendation concerning Dixon's reinstatement. Kuhl, a former supervisor and one of the referrals provided by Dixon, described Dixon as competent and articulate and commented favorably on his character, abilities, reputation and loyalty. He recommended Dixon for reinstatement, although he commented that he would have liked to have interviewed Dixon to discern his motivations for seeking reinstatement. Finally, Thornton, the last of Dixon's referrals and one of his former co-workers, recommended in favor of reinstating him. Thornton opined that Dixon was an effective investigator, "who conducted his business in an appropriate manner."

After reviewing these various recommendations, on April 14, 1992, the FBI wrote Dixon a letter informing him that he would not be reinstated. Dixon maintains that he did not receive this letter and that he did not learn about the FBI's decision until 1994 when he called the Detroit field office to inquire about the status of his application. During this call, the FBI would reveal only that its refusal to reinstate Dixon was predicated upon negative evaluations from some of Dixon's former colleagues and supervisors. Following this telephone conversation, Dixon submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") to receive his personnel file from the FBI. Dixon received the requested documents in May 1997, which included a copy of Reutter's negative recommendation.

On July 8, 1997, Dixon contacted an EEO counselor. He filed a formal EEO complaint on August 20, 1997. After the agency adjudication process was completed, Dixon's complaint for discriminatory retaliation ultimately was dismissed. Dixon, 392 F.3d at 216. On November 12, 2002, Dixon filed suit in the Eastern District of Michigan asserting, among other things, that Reutter's negative appraisal constituted retaliation in response to Dixon's complaints about Reutter's racially discriminatory behavior, and that this unlawful retaliation formed the basis for the FBI's decision not to reinstate Dixon. The district court dismissed Dixon's case on March 12, 2003 on the grounds that he had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies because, although he brought suit under Title VII for unlawful retaliation, he did not include these allegations in his EEO complaint.

In an opinion issued on December 16, 2004, we reversed the district court's judgment. We held that in a...

To continue reading

Request your trial
363 cases
  • Equal Emp't Opportunity Comm'n v. Tepro, Inc., Case No. 4:12–cv–75.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. Eastern District of Tennessee
    • September 28, 2015
    ......Cincinnati Bell Tel. Co., LLC, 681 F.3d 274, 283 (6th Cir.2012) (quoting Dixon v. Gonzales, 481 F.3d 324, 333 (6th Cir.2007) ); Watson v. Ft. Worth Bank & Trust, 487 U.S. 977, 986, 108 S.Ct. 2777, 101 L.Ed.2d 827 (1988) ......
  • Jordan v. Mathews Nissan, Inc.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. United States District Court of Middle District of Tennessee
    • May 17, 2021
    ...the court to deduce that there is a causal connection between the retaliatory action and the protected activity." Dixon v. Gonzales , 481 F.3d 324, 333 (6th Cir. 2007). The Sixth Circuit has held that the causal link can be inferred at the summary judgment stage when the adverse employment ......
  • Thompson v. Chase Bankcard Serv., Inc., Case No. 2:09-CV-293
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. Southern District of Ohio
    • August 23, 2010
    ......The burden of proof at this stage is minimal. Bryson, 498 F.3d at 571 (citing Dixon v. Gonzales, 481 F.3d 324, 333 (6th Cir.2007)). Furthermore, the Sixth Circuit has held that proximity in time between a plaintiff's protected ......
  • Rush v. E.I. DuPont DeNemours & Co., Civil Action No. 2:11–CV–127.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. Southern District of Ohio
    • November 20, 2012
    ...at the prima facie stage is minimal[.]’ ” Seeger v. Cincinnati Bell Tel. Co., 681 F.3d 274, 283 (6th Cir.2012) (quoting Dixon v. Gonzales, 481 F.3d 324, 333 (6th Cir.2007)). See also Bryson v. Regis Corp., 498 F.3d 561, 571 (6th Cir.2007) (“As an initial matter, ‘[a] plaintiff's burden in e......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
1 books & journal articles
  • Pay discrimination claims after Ledbetter.
    • United States
    • Defense Counsel Journal Vol. 75 No. 4, October 2008
    • October 1, 2008
    ...Atlanta, Inc., 516 F.2d at 930. (93) Oshiver v. Levin, Fishbein, Sedron & Berman, 38 F.3d at 1387; see also Dixon v. Gonzales, 481 F.3d 324, 332 (6th Cir. 2007) (employer "both refused and delayed [plaintiffs] attempts to uncover the basic facts surrounding the challenged employment act......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT