Allen v. St. Cabrini Nursing Home, Inc.

• Decision Date: 11 April 2002
• Docket Number: No. 00CIV.8558(CM)(LMS).,00CIV.8558(CM)(LMS).
• Citation: 198 F.Supp.2d 442
• Parties: Adell P. ALLEN, Plaintiff, v. ST. CABRINI NURSING HOME, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

198 F.Supp.2d 442

Adell P. ALLEN, Plaintiff, v. ST. CABRINI NURSING HOME, INC., Defendant.

No. 00CIV.8558(CM)(LMS).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

April 11, 2002.

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Adell Allen, Plaintiff Pro Se, Mt. Vernon.

Jeffrey Collazo, Esq., New York.

McMAHON, District Judge.

On November 8, 2000, plaintiff filed the instant federal court Complaint against St. Cabrini Nursing Home ("St. Cabrini" or the "Nursing Home"), alleging violations of Title VII in St. Cabrini's termination of her employment. Plaintiff alleged that St. Cabrini retaliated against her, failed to promote her; provided her with (unspecified) unequal terms and conditions of employment; harassed her; and discriminated against her based on sex; plaintiff also alleged tort claims for harassment and defamation. By decision and order of March 9, 2001, this Court dismissed all of plaintiff's claims except for her retaliation claim. The parties completed discovery on plaintiff's retaliation claim on October 18, 2001, and defendant immediately moved for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff's one remaining cause of action.

That motion is granted.

Plaintiff admits that she was fired from her job at Cabrini for repeatedly refusing to cooperate in the Nursing Home's investigation of a Resident's injury. Plaintiff's sole support for her retaliation claim consists of conclusory allegations of an elaborate conspiracy to persecute her, for which she offers no evidence whatsoever. Because plaintiff has failed either to make out a prima facie case of retaliation or to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to St. Cabrini's legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for firing her, the motion is granted and the Complaint dismissed.

Statement of Undisputed Facts

None of the following facts is in dispute.

Plaintiff began work at St. Cabrini as a Certified Nursing Assistant ("CNA") on August 11, 1997 (56.1 Statement, ¶¶ 1, 2). As a CNA, plaintiff's position required her to administer non-professional care and perform routine tasks under the supervision of a nurse (56.1 St. ¶ 3). In particular, plaintiff was responsible for feeding, grooming, dressing, and transporting nursing home residents, as well as assisting residents with personal hygiene, responding to resident calls for assistance, and monitoring residents' temperature, weight, and fluid intake and output. Id. Plaintiff's position as CNA also required her to "report any observations of unusual manner or appearance" regarding the residents to whom she was assigned, including color, skin conditions, restlessness, and lethargy. Id. Plaintiff's position also required her to report any injuries she detected to the nurse in charge, and to take precautions, such as the use of side rails, to ensure the safety of nursing home residents. Id.

Plaintiff was assigned to work part-time on the weekend night shift, from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. (56.1 St. ¶ 4). When Plaintiff reported to work on the night of February 28, 2000, she was assigned to the One West unit of the Nursing Home, and one of the residents assigned to her care was an elderly woman who will be identified herein as E.O. (56.1 St. ¶ 5). Plaintiff states that she left the floor at 7:15 a.m. on the morning of February 29, 2000 (56.1 St. ¶ 6). Plaintiff was relieved that morning by a CNA named Lilly James, whose shift began at 7 a.m. (56.1 St. ¶¶ 6, 7).

Shortly before 9:00 a.m. on February 29, 2000, Ms. James noticed that E.O.'s right leg was injured (56.1 St. ¶ 8). Ms. James immediately reported the injury to her nurse supervisor, licensed practical nurse Margaret ("Peggy") Kraft, who examined and dressed the wound (56.1 St. ¶¶ 8, 9). Id. Pursuant to nursing regulations and standard nursing home policy, Ms. Kraft prepared a Resident Incident Report at 9:05 a.m. describing E.O.'s injury (56.1 St. ¶ 10). When E.O.'s physician examined her the next day, he noted that the injury might be infected (56.1 St. ¶ 11). Pursuant to St. Cabrini procedures, Daytime Supervisor Lucille Smith, RN, began to collect written statements from the employees who had cared for Resident E.O. during the 24-hour period before the injury's discovery.¹ (56.1 St. ¶¶ 12, 13.) All employees except Ms. Allen cooperated in the investigation and submitted written statements documenting their observations of E.O.² Id.

When plaintiff reported to work the following evening, February 29, Sicily Jeremiah, RN, instructed plaintiff to complete a written statement documenting her care of Resident E.O. on the night of the injury (56.1 St. ¶ 14). In reply, plaintiff stated to Ms. Jeremiah that she had noticed a "healed up dry area" on one of the resident's legs, but did not remember which leg, and stated that she did not report this to the nurse because "it look[ed] old." (56.1 St. ¶ 15). Plaintiff refused to provide a written statement, and refused to sign the summary Ms. Jeremiah prepared of their conversation, instead sarcastically threatening to call the FBI (56.1 St. ¶ 14, 15). During plaintiff's next scheduled shift on March 6, 2000, Ms. Theoret and union delegate Gloria Hamilton met with plaintiff, and plaintiff was directed a second time to comply with the investigation (56.1 St. ¶ 16).³ Plaintiff refused to cooperate, however, instead stating, "I'll have to get a lawyer before I answer any questions" (56.1 St. ¶ 16). On March 9, 2000, Assistant Director of Nursing Velia Nappi suspended plaintiff pending further investigation for her refusal to cooperate in the investigation of E.O.'s injury (56.1 St. ¶ 17).

On March 15, 2000, in the presence of two union delegates, Director of Nursing Diane Patton met with plaintiff again and a third time directed her to cooperate with St. Cabrini's investigation of the resident's injury (56.1 St. ¶ 18). Plaintiff again refused to cooperate. Id. Accordingly, plaintiff's suspension was extended indefinitely, pending a further attempt to elicit her cooperation. Id.

On March 17, 2000, St. Cabrini's Director of Human Resources, Richard Schneiderman, instructed plaintiff to meet with Ms. Patton in order to discuss what she knew of E.O.'s injury, and advised plaintiff that failure to do so would result in immediate termination (56.1 St. ¶ 19). By letter of March 24, 2000, plaintiff declined this fourth opportunity to comply with her employer's instructions and satisfy her responsibilities as a CNA at St. Cabrini, and instead declared that the incident with Resident E.O. was "fictitious" (56.1 St. ¶ 20). On March 28, 2000, Mr. Schneiderman terminated plaintiff's employment. (56.1 St. ¶ 21). No other employee, in the collective experience of Mr. Schneiderman, Ms. Patton, and Ms. Nappi, has ever refused to cooperate in such an investigation (56.1 St. ¶ 22).

Plaintiff alleges that on December 10, 1998 (over 15 months before her employment was terminated), she submitted a letter to Margaret Marbury, who was then the Acting Director of Nursing and is now the Director of Quality Control and Accreditation at St. Cabrini (56.1 St. ¶ 26), complaining of purported discrimination in that she was allegedly denied the opportunity to work five extra hours. She asserts that she was fired because of this letter, rather than for her refusal to cooperate with the Nursing Home's investigation (56.1 St. ¶ 26). No one in St. Cabrini's management, including Marbury, has any record or recollection of receiving such a document at any time, or any complaint of discrimination from plaintiff whatsoever⁴ (56.1 St. ¶ 27, 28, 29). None of the individuals involved in the discipline and termination of plaintiff (Mr. Schneiderman, Ms. Patton, and Ms. Nappi) was employed at St. Cabrini as of the date of the alleged letter (56.1 St. ¶ 28). Achamma Matthews, the only individual mentioned in plaintiff's December 1998 letter, did not participate in the investigation of E.O.'s injury, and participated in plaintiff's discipline only to the extent of carrying out Ms. Nappi's instructions (56.1 St. ¶¶ 37).

Plaintiff has produced no evidence whatsoever of retaliatory intent. She admits that she did not hear any discriminatory remarks during her employment at St. Cabrini, and also admits that she heard no remarks at any point during her employment that would suggest that the decision to terminate her employment was motivated by retaliation (56.1 St. ¶ 32). Subsequent to her alleged submission of the December, 1998 letter, plaintiff cooperated in an internal investigation of an injury suffered by another Nursing Home Resident (Resident H.M.). That investigation took place in April 1999. In the course of this investigation, plaintiff submitted a written statement stating that she knew nothing about H.M.'s injury. This statement was satisfactory to her supervisors (56.1 St. ¶ 31). Plaintiff offers no explanation of why her employer would allegedly pass up one opportunity to retaliate against her, and wait 10 additional months for its next alleged opportunity.

At no point was plaintiff ever accused of deliberately injuring Resident E.O. (56.1 St. ¶ 23). St. Cabrini ultimately concluded that E.O. probably incurred her injury when her leg became wedged between her bed's mattress and side railing (56.1 St. ¶ 24). Aside from her conclusory allegation, plaintiff offers no evidence tending to show that anyone at St. Cabrini ever held her responsible for E.O.'s injury.

Conclusions of Law

NO GENUINE ISSUE OF MATERIAL FACT EXISTS TO SUPPORT PLAINTIFF'S RETALIATION CLAIM

Summary judgment is appropriate where the parties' submissions show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). For plaintiff to defeat summary judgment, she must offer "concrete particulars" to substantiate the claim; she may not merely rely on the pleadings or raise solely metaphysical doubt as to the material facts. Dawkins v. Witco Corp., 103 F.Supp.2d 688, 695 (S.D.N.Y.2000)....