Hankins v. Temple University (Health Sciences Center)

• Decision Date: 13 July 1987
• Docket Number: Nos. 86-1476,87-1246,s. 86-1476
• Citation: 829 F.2d 437
• Parties: 44 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 1736, 44 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 37,460, 41 Ed. Law Rep. 1261 HANKINS, Althea V., Dr., Appellant, v. TEMPLE UNIVERSITY (HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER) and Tourtellotte, Charles D., Dr., Chief, Rheumatology Section Temple University School of Medicine and Berney, Steven N., Dr., Temple University Section of Rheumatology and Conaway, Douglas C., Dr., Temple University Department of Medicine Section of Rheumatology, Appellees. . Submitted Under Third Circuit Rule 12(6)
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 437

829 F.2d 437

44 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 1736,

44 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 37,460, 41 Ed. Law Rep. 1261

HANKINS, Althea V., Dr., Appellant, v. TEMPLE UNIVERSITY (HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER) and Tourtellotte, Charles D., Dr., Chief, Rheumatology Section Temple

University School of Medicine and Berney, Steven N., Dr.,

Temple University Section of Rheumatology and Conaway,

Douglas C., Dr., Temple University Department of Medicine

Section of Rheumatology, Appellees.

Nos. 86-1476, 87-1246.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Submitted Under Third Circuit Rule 12(6)

July 13, 1987.

Decided Sept. 23, 1987.

Larry Charles Miller, Philadelphia, Pa., for appellant.

Stephen Bosch, Temple University, Office of University Counsel, Philadelphia, Pa., for appellees.

Before GIBBONS, Chief Judge, MANSMANN, Circuit Judge and McCUNE, District Judge ^*.

OPINION OF THE COURT

GIBBONS, Chief Judge:

Dr. Althea Hankins brought suit against Temple University and several members of its faculty, claiming that she was terminated from a fellowship program in the Rheumatology Department of the University's hospital because of her race and sex, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000d et seq. (1982), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e et seq. (1982), and 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981 (1982). She also alleged that her dismissal from the program was accomplished in violation of due process. The district court denied Hankins' motion for a preliminary injunction, and subsequently granted the University's motion for summary judgment. Hankins' appeals from these orders were consolidated by this court. We will affirm. ¹

I.

Dr. Hankins, a black female physician, was accepted into a fellowship program in the Rheumatology Section of Temple University Hospital for the period beginning July 1, 1984. As a fellow, she was also admitted into an instructional program in the School of Medicine, where she was to receive clinical training from the medical faculty. Her immediate supervisors were Charles D. Tourtellotte, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Chief of Rheumatology, Steven N. Berney, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, and Douglas C. Conaway, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine. Pursuant to her fellowship, Dr. Hankins was granted privileges at the hospital, and became a member of the medical staff. See Letter from Gerald Miller to Althea Hankins, M.D. (September 26, 1984), reprinted in Appendix at 65a.

In addition, Dr. Hankins was appointed Clinical Instructor in the Department of Medicine, the appointment to run concurrently with her appointment as a fellow. See Letter from Leo M. Henikoff, M.D. to Althea Hankins, M.D., (June 28, 1984), reprinted in Appendix at 498a. Her employment as an instructor did not obligate the University to provide her with financial remuneration or tenure. Rather, her salary, fringe benefits, and malpractice insurance were provided through her participation as a fellow. Id.

During the course of Dr. Hankins' fellowship, it became the opinion of her supervisors that her performance was inadequate. On May 10, 1985, Dr. Tourtellotte sent a memorandum to Dr. Hankins, outlining the Rheumatology Department's dissatisfaction with her development. See Memorandum from Charles D. Tourtellotte, M.D. to Althea Hankins, M.D. (May 10, 1985), reprinted in Appendix at 476a. Dr. Tourtellotte noted, in this correspondence that members of the faculty had already met with Dr. Hankins several times to discuss deficiencies in her overall performance. Moreover, he informed appellant:

Your continued service with us will require significant improvement in all of the following areas which have been found deficient by us: 1-attendance and punctuality-daily activities and conferences; 2-peer relationships-effectiveness as a consultant for students, residents, referring physicians; 3-histories, physical examinations, special techniques, management plans expected of a medical subspecialist consultant; 4-consultations and progress notes of the character and level expected; 5-physician-patient relationships-effectively managing personal problems, appropriate dress and demeanor, on call availability and transfer of patient care responsibility; 6-fund of medical and rheumatological knowledge.

Id.

A second written evaluation was provided on October 16, 1985. While Dr. Tourtellotte noted some improvement in areas such as dress and peer relationships, he observed that Dr. Hankins' performance in approaching, evaluating and managing rheumatological problems remained unsatisfactory. Thus, Dr. Tourtellotte stated, Dr. Hankins was "not passing in the most significant aspect of [her] fellowship." Memorandum from Charles D. Tourtellotte, M.D. to Althea Hankins, M.D. (October 15, 1985), reprinted in Appendix at 76a-77a.

Upon receipt of this memorandum, Dr. Hankins left the hospital, leaving her patients unattended. See Letter from Charles D. Tourtellotte, M.D. to Althea Hankins, M.D. (October 18, 1985), reprinted in Appendix at 78a. ² In response to her abandonment of these patients, Dr. Hankins was suspended from the Rheumatology Fellowship Program pending further review and investigation. Id.

On February 26, 1986, Dr. Hankins filed a complaint and motion for preliminary relief in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She asserted that she was dismissed from the fellowship because of her race and gender, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000d et seq., Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e et seq., and 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981. ³ Further, she contended that her fellowship was terminated without due process.

After holding hearings over several days, the district court denied appellant's motion for preliminary injunctive relief. Hankins v. Temple University, No. 86-1148 (E.D.Pa. June 30, 1986), reprinted in Appendix at 38. The district court observed that "it appeared that the dismissal of plaintiff from the program at Temple hospital was not related to plaintiff's race or sex, but rather was based upon plaintiff's inability to carry out her duties assigned and expected of her in a professional manner." Id., mem. op. at 2.

On October 15, 1986, defendants moved for summary judgment. On March 31, 1987, the district court granted the defendants' motion.

II.

In reviewing the district court's grant of defendants' motion for summary judgment our review is plenary, Pollock v. American Telephone & Telegraph Long Lines, 794 F.2d 860, 864 (3d Cir.1986), and we must apply the same test the district court should have utilized initially. Chipollini v. Spencer Gifts, Inc., 814 F.2d 893, 896 (3d Cir.1987).

Summary judgment may be entered if "the pleadings, deposition, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). An issue is "genuine" only if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Equimark Comm. Finance Co. v. C.I.T. Financial Serv. Corp., 812 F.2d 141, 144 (3d Cir.1987). If evidence is "merely colorable" or "not significantly probative," summary judgment may be granted. Anderson, 106 S.Ct. at 2511; Equimark, 812 F.2d at 144. Where the record, taken as a whole, could not "lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, summary judgment is proper." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio, 475 U.S. 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

III.

A.

In a discrimination case, our task is to determine whether, upon viewing all of the facts and reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, there exists sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the employer intentionally discriminated against the plaintiff. See Pollock v. American Telephone & Telegraph Long Lines, 794 F.2d at 864; EEOC v. Hall's Motor Transit Co., 789 F.2d 1011, 1015 (3d Cir.1986). Because of the difficulty in acquiring direct evidence of employer motivation in most cases, the Supreme Court has articulated a three-step method of proof to be employed in employment discrimination cases. Dillon v. Coles, 746 F.2d 998, 1003 (3d Cir.1984). First announced in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), and refined in Texas Dept. of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981), this three-prong method relies on presumptions and shifting burdens of production to establish an employer's intent to discriminate. Dillon v. Coles, 746 F.2d at 1003.

Plaintiff bears the initial burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence a prima facie case of discrimination, Burdine, 450 U.S. at 252, 101 S.Ct. at 1093, whereby she must show that she was terminated from a position for which she was qualified while others not in the protected class were treated more favorably. See Bellissimo v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 764 F.2d 175, 179 (3d Cir.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1035, 106 S.Ct. 1244, 89 L.Ed.2d 353 (1986); Duffy v. Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corp., 738 F.2d 1393, 1395 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1087, 105 S.Ct. 592, 83 L.Ed.2d 702 (1984). Once plaintiff has established a prima facie case of discrimination, the burden shifts to the defendant to dispel this presumption of discrimination, and articulate "some legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the employee's rejection." Burdine, 450 U.S. at 253, 101 S.Ct. at 1093. By satisfying this burden, the presumption created by plaintiff's prima facie showing drops from the case. Id. at 254-55, 101 S.Ct. at 1094. The ultimate burden of persuasion, which always rests with the plaintiff,...