Abrams v. Dep't of Pub. Safety
| Decision Date | 26 August 2014 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 13–111–cv. |
| Citation | 764 F.3d 244 |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
| Parties | Frederick M. ABRAMS, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, State of Connecticut, John A. Danaher, III, Commissioner, i/o Steven Fields, Major, i/o, Patrick O'Hara, Lieutenant, i/o, John Turner, Sargeant, i/o, Barbara Lynch, Affirmative Action Officer, i/o, Sean Cox, Defendants–Appellees. |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
W. Martyn Philpot, Jr., Law Office of W. Martyn Philpot, Jr. LLC, New Haven, CT, for Plaintiff–Appellant.
Ann E. Lynch, Assistant Attorney General (Antoria D. Howard, Associate Attorney General, on the brief), for George Jepsen, Connecticut Attorney General, Hartford, CT, for Defendants–Appellees.
Before: WALKER, POOLER, and WESLEY, Circuit Judges.
Defendants petition for rehearing following our decision in Abrams v. Dep't of Pub. Safety, No. 13–111–cv, 2014 WL 3397609 (2d Cir. July 14, 2014). The petition is granted, and the opinion filed July 14, 2014 is withdrawn. For the reasons that follow in our revised opinion, we AFFIRM the district court's grant of summary judgment as to the Title VII retaliation claim pertaining to Plaintiff's Casino Unit transfer and the jury's verdict in favor of Defendants as to the Title VII retaliation claim. We VACATE the district court's grant of summary judgment of the Title VII race discrimination claim, as well as the corresponding race discrimination claim brought under the Equal Protection Clause pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
On appeal, Plaintiff–Appellant Frederick M. Abrams (“Abrams”) challenges a March 31, 2012 order of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (Robert N. Chatigny, Judge ) and a December 5, 2012 jury verdict (Charles B. Kornmann, Judge ). Abrams brought claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. Against Defendant–Appellee Department of Public Safety (“DPS”), he alleges Title VII race discrimination for his failure to be transferred into the district's Major Crimes Van (the “Van”); he also alleges that his continued failure to be transferred to the Van, as well as his transfer to the Casino Unit after his complaints about discrimination, constitute retaliation under Title VII. Against the individual Defendants–Appellees, Abrams claims a violation of the Equal Protection Clause pursuant to § 1983 for continued non-assignment to the Van.
The district court granted Defendants–Appellees' motions for summary judgment as to the Title VII discrimination and § 1983 claims as to all individual officers. Abrams v. Dep't of Pub. Safety, 856 F.Supp.2d 402, 411–12 (D.Conn.2012). The district court also granted summary judgment as to the Title VII retaliation claim regarding Abrams's assignment to the Casino Unit, but denied summary judgment for retaliation regarding his continued non-assignment to the Van. Id. at 412–13. Following a trial, a jury found for DPS on the remaining retaliation claim. On appeal, Abrams now challenges the district court's grant of summary judgment to Defendants and the judgment in favor of DPS after trial.
Abrams, a black male, joined DPS in 1986. In 1990, he was made a detective in the Eastern District Major Crimes Unit (“EDMCU”), a division that houses more than thirty detectives working on major crimes but not homicides. Homicides, at least in part, are handled by the EDMCU's crime van (the “Van”).
The Van is a specialized unit comprised of five to six EDMCU detectives who investigate serious crimes, suspicious deaths, and homicides. Van detectives have the same pay and benefits as other detectives and no change in title, but assignment to the Van is considered an elite position occupied by the “best of the best of troopers.” (Matthews Dep. 16). Van duty is a demanding job; assigned detectives must be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There is no formal application process for assignment to the Van. When an opening becomes available, interested detectives simply submit their names and resumes. Defendants Sergeant John Turner and Captain Patrick O'Hara, under the supervision of Lieutenant Colonel Steven Fields, then select a detective for the Van. Seniority is a factor in selecting among applicants; a college degree is not a prerequisite.
Abrams has unsuccessfully sought to join the Van since 1998. He has received various reasons for his continued non-selection, including that he had a history of poor performance evaluations with regard to written reports. While at the State Police Training Academy in 1986, Abrams underperformed in areas including report writing, knowledge of the penal code, and criminal investigations. When placed in his first assignment out of the academy, however, performance reports indicated that Abrams had made a “concerted effort and overcame these problems.” . In 1990, Abrams was transferred to the EDMCU, where his report writing met with differing reviews; he received occasional criticism from some supervisors, while others either noted improvement or offered positive evaluations. .
Perhaps the most salient of these performance evaluations were those given by Sergeant Thomas Wakely, who supervised Abrams from 2001 to 2008–prior to and during much of the period relevant to this case. Although Wakely rated Abrams's communication skills (which include report writing) as “unsatisfactory” in his Spring 2001 evaluation, he noted in a late 2002 evaluation that Abrams's skills were improving. . The improving evaluations continued in early Spring 2003, when Wakely again noted improvement and rated Abrams's report writing as “satisfactory.” . Notwithstanding a late Spring 2003 evaluation in which Wakely noted that Abrams needed improvement in his report writing, Abrams's upward trend continued through 2008 when Wakely was replaced by Sergeant Sean Cox as Abrams's supervisor. .
During his tenure at EDMCU, Abrams was one of no more than three black detectivesand was the only one to ever express interest in joining the Van. From 2004 through 2009, the time period relevant to Abrams's claims, all eight detectives selected for and assigned to the Van were white. Although some of these detectives had a college degree, which Abrams lacked, Abrams had more training and seniority than each of the detectives selected above him. The detectives' respective qualifications are summarized briefly:
• Detective Leitkowski, assigned in 2004, possessed special forensic drawing and crime scene diagramming skills.
• Detective McFadden, assigned in 2006, possessed “strong investigatory skills” and excellent report writing (according to Turner, who recommended him).
• Detective Payette, assigned in 2007, had strong technical investigatory and electronic equipment skills, and a college degree. When Wakely spoke to O'Hara about Payette's selection over Abrams, whom Wakely had recommended, O'Hara noted that Payette would “fit in better” and noted his college degree.
• Detective Vining, assigned in 2008, was the only woman in the Van, had skills related to crimes on children and forensic interviewing of children, and had a college degree in Psychology.
• Detective Lamoureux, also assigned in 2008, had strong investigatory and interviewing skills and a college degree in Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Administration.
• Detective Hoyt, the last detective assigned to the Van in 2008, had expertise working with other agencies and handling cases involving children and sexual assault. Hoyt also had a college degree in Justice and Law Administration.
• Detective Cargill, assigned in 2009, was an emergency medical technician and had strong investigatory and report writing skills.
• Detective Kasperowski, assigned in late 2009, held bachelor's and master's degrees. According to Defendant Cox, he also had excellent interviewing skills and success solving sexual assaults.
When a spot opened in the Van in 2007, Wakely personally recommended Abrams to the selection committee; Wakely rated Abrams “superior” in every category and noted in a March 2007 meeting about his recommendation of Abrams that Abrams's reports were greatly improved and “fantastic.” (Wakely Dep. 55–57). Wakely reported that notwithstanding his recommendation of Abrams, O'Hara found Detective Payette—a different applicant—to be a “better fit” for the Van than Abrams. In communicating this to Wakely, O'Hara apparently also noted that Payette had a college degree. (Wakely Dep. 49–51). During his deposition, Wakely stated that it “crossed his mind” that O'Hara's “better fit” statement could relate to race. (Wakely Dep. 83–84).
This was not the first time such words were used by those charged with selecting Van applicants to explain Abrams's continued rejection. For instance, at some point between 2000 and 2004 during a discussion concerning...
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