ANDELA v. University of Miami

• Decision Date: 08 March 2010
• Docket Number: Case No. 09-21723-CIV.
• Parties: Valentine B. ANDELA, Plaintiff, v. UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, et al., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida

692 F. Supp.2d 1356

Valentine B. ANDELA, Plaintiff, v. UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, et al., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 09-21723-CIV.

United States District Court, S.D. Florida.

March 8, 2010.

Valentine B. Andela, Upper Darby, PA, pro se.

Eric David Isicoff Teresa Ragatz, Isicoff Ragatz & Koenigsberg, Miami, FL, Benjamine Reid, Carlton Fields, North Carolina Department of Justice, Raleigh, NC, for Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING IN PART UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI'S MOTION TO DISMISS OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT; GRANTING IN PART UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL'S MOTION TO DISMISS OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

K. MICHAEL MOORE, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE came before the Court upon Defendant University of Miami's Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment (dkt. # 14) and Defendant University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment (dkt. # 25). Plaintiff filed Responses (dkt. #'s 24, 31) and Defendants filed Replies (dkt. #'s 28, 38).

UPON CONSIDERATION of the Motions, the Responses, the Replies, the pertinent portions of the record, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, the Court enters the following Order.

I. BACKGROUND

This case arises out of pro se Plaintiff Valentine B. Andela's ("Andela") employment with Defendant University of Miami ("UM") and his subsequent termination. Andela is a physician-scientist from Cameroon, Africa, whose area of study is translational cancer research and international technology transfer to Africa. Andela was employed by UM from June of 2005 to September 25, 2006, as a post-doctoral associate in the Viral Oncology program at UM's Sylvester Comprehensive Care Center (the "Sylvester Center"). Throughout his employment as a post-doctoral associate, Andela worked in the laboratory of Dr. William J. Harrington, Jr. ("Harrington"). Andela was also enrolled in UM's Master of Art in International Administration ("MAIA") program from January of 2006 to October of 2007.

A. Andela's Employment with UM

Andela is an internationally recognized cancer researcher who is black and a native of Cameroon. ALJ Recommended Order at 6 (dkt. # 14-8); see also Am. Compl. ¶ 2. In 1999, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Yaounde I in Cameroon. ALJ Recommended Order at 7 (dkt. # 14-8). Andela spent the next five years working as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York. Id. In June of 2005, Andela began working as a post-doctoral associate in the Viral Oncology Program at the Sylvester Center. Id. The Sylvester Center serves as the hub for cancer-related research, diagnosis, and treatment at UM's School of Medicine. Id. Harrington was in charge of the Viral Oncology program throughout Andela's employment and ran a cancer-research laboratory focused on the therapeutic targeting of NFkappaB signaling in Epstein Barr Virus related to Burkitt's Lymphomas and developing international research programs. Id. at 9. Harrington's lab was funded entirely by research grants including grants from the National Institutes of Health ("NIH"), the Leukemia Society, and the State of Florida. Id.

In June of 2005, Harrington personally interviewed Andela and offered him a post-doctoral position in his lab. Id. at 10. As a post-doctoral associate, Andela was the "senior lab person" working under Harrington's supervision. Id. Andela alleges that he "accepted the position of a post-doctoral associate with the understanding that he would be moving up to an independent (faculty) position within a year-which is standard expectation of someone with over 5 years of successful post-doctoral experience-and would be pursing his primary interest in translational cancer research (targeted therapeutics of NFkappaB signaling in cancer) and international development and technology transfer to Africa." Am. Compl. ¶ 35. Harrington and Andela initially enjoyed a cordial working and social relationship. ALJ Recommended Order at 10 (dkt. # 14-8).

During the first several months of his employment, Andela engaged in research involving NFkappaB signaling. Id. at 12. Harrington was impressed with Andela's work in the lab and with an article Andela had published in the East African Medical Journal. Id. Andela also contributed to the preparation of a successful NIH grant submitted by Harrington on September 1, 2005. Id. The NIH grant involved funding for a project in collaboration with researchers in Brazil and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("UNC"). Id. The project involved research on Burkitt's Lymphomas, Epstein Barr virus, and their relationship to NFkappaB. Id. at 13. The grant application was based on work that was done prior to Andela's employment under Harrington. Id. Listed as key personnel on the grant application were: Harrington; Iguaracyra Aruajo, M.D., of Brazil; Jose Barreto, M.D., of Brazil; Carlos Brites, M.D., Ph.D., of Brazil (collectively, the "Brazilian Investigators"); Dirk Dittmer, Ph.D., of UNC ("Dittmer"); and Isildinha Reis, Ph.D., of UM. Id. Also included on the grant was a statement made concerning the anticipated role of Andela in the project. Id. The statement indicated that Andela would be in charge of the day-to-day aspects of Harrington's work including receiving research samples shipped from Brazil and forwarding them to Dittmer at UNC, performing cell cultures, preparing DNA and RNA, and analyzing other research samples. Id. at 14.

Andela alleges, however, that the NIH grant also incorporated a commitment between Harrington's lab and researchers in Cameroon. Am. Compl. ¶ 37. Andela alleges that sometime between July and August 2005, a commitment was made between himself, Harrington, the chair and vice-chair of the national cancer control program in Cameroon, and the vice dean in-charge of research and international cooperation at the University of Yaounde I, to collaborate and develop an international research program on Burkitt's Lymphoma. Id. Andela further alleges that Harrington represented to him that the NIH grant application incorporated the research commitments in Cameroon and that once the funding came through, Andela would independently develop the research program in Africa and would receive a faculty position and a dedicated research technician. Id.

In the fall of 2005, Harrington and Andela discussed the prospect of Andela researching Epstein-Barr virus ("EBV") microRNAs, a novel area of research. ALJ Recommended Order at 14 (dkt. # 14-8). With Harrington's approval, Andela began researching EBV microRNAs, a project that consumed most of his work time during his employment with UM. Id. Andela's project included helping draft a manuscript detailing the findings of his research. Id. In November of 2005, Andela advised Harrington that he was considering participating in a clinical residency program at UM's Jackson Memorial Medical Center ("Jackson Memorial"). Id. at 15. Harrington wrote Andela a letter of recommendation praising him for exceeding expectations and personally called Stephen Symes, M.D. ("Symes"), who was the head of Jackson Memorial's staff program at the time, to recommend Andela. Id. Andela planned to participate in a two-week clinical rotation at Jackson Memorial in December of 2005 but decided not to because the EBV microRNA research project he had undertaken was consuming all of his time. Id. Harrington was pleased with Andela's work on the EBV microRNA research project and gave Andela an overall rating of "exceeds standards" in his annual performance evaluation on March 20, 2006. Id. at 16. Andela received a rating of "exceeds standards" in all but one category: time management. Id. In the time management category, Andela received a rating of "meets standards" along with a comment by Harrington that stated: "I would like him to maintain more regular hours but his work is outstanding." Id. Harrington included this comment in his review because he felt there were issues regarding Andela's disappearing for long periods of time from Harrington's lab without explanation. Id. Harrington felt Andela's absences were becoming problematic. Id.

In the Spring of 2006, Andela's unexplained absences from Harrington's lab continued and their relationship quickly deteriorated. Id. at 17. Andela's absences prompted several unpleasant email exchanges between Harrington and Andela. Id. at 17-22. Andela also alleges, however, that during the month of April, Harrington "repeatedly used demeaning and offensive language and made disparaging remarks vis-a-vis Andela including negative stereotypes and expletives generally associated with the unfavorable geopolitical standing of Africa(ns)." Am. Compl. ¶ 51. On May 12, 2006, following one of Andela's unexcused absences, Harrington spoke with Andela and provided him with verbal instructions regarding his attendance. ALJ Recommended Order at 22 (dkt. # 14-8). Also on May 12, Harrington sent an email to Desiree Uptgrow ("Uptgrow") of the Sylvester Center's Human Resources Office, informing her of the instructions he had provided to Andela and his intention to fire Andela if Andela's behavior did not conform to his instructions. Id. at 22-23.

On June 1, 2006, Harrington submitted a manuscript detailing research on EBV microRNA (the "First Manuscript") to the medical journal Blood. Id. at 23-24. Andela was listed as first author and Harrington and the Brazilian Investigators were also listed as authors. Id. at 24. While Andela disagreed with including the Brazilian investigators as authors, Harrington felt that they clearly deserved to be co-authors and that it would be unethical not to include them. Id. Andela also alleges that Dittmer "made tortious objections on Andela's draft manuscript such as vetoing the entire discussion section, stating `I DON'T BELIEVE THE DISCUSSION.'" Am. Compl. ¶ 56. The First...