Bakhtiari v. Lutz

• Decision Date: 15 November 2007
• Docket Number: No. 06-3867.,06-3867.
• Citation: 507 F.3d 1132
• Parties: Alireza BAKHTIARI, Appellant, v. Paula M. LUTZ, Dr., Dean of College of Arts & Sciences, University of Missouri-Rolla; Board of Curators of the Corporation of the Curators of the University of Missouri; Curators of the University of Missouri, a public corporation, Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

507 F.3d 1132

Alireza BAKHTIARI, Appellant, v. Paula M. LUTZ, Dr., Dean of College of Arts & Sciences, University of Missouri-Rolla; Board of Curators of the Corporation of the Curators of the University of Missouri; Curators of the University of Missouri, a public corporation, Appellees.

No. 06-3867.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: June 13, 2007.

Filed: November 15, 2007.

Marshall R. Hoekel, argued, St. Louis, MO, for appellant.

Nancie Divilbiss Hawke, argued (Phillip J. Hoskins, on the brief), Columbia, MO, for appellee.

Before MURPHY, BEAM, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

BEAM, Circuit Judge.

Alireza Bakhtiari appeals from the district court's¹ adverse grant of summary judgment in favor of Dr. Paula Lutz and the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) in this employment discrimination and civil rights case. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

We recite the facts in the light most favorable to Bakhtiari, the non-moving party. Weyrauch v. Cigna Life Ins. Co., 416 F.3d 717, 720 (8th Cir.2005). In the fall of 2001, the Chemistry Department at UMR recruited Bakhtiari, an Iranian national, to be a graduate teaching assistant (TA) and a participant in the Chemistry Ph.D. program. Bakhtiari reported to campus and commenced his studies and work as a TA in January 2002. As part of his Ph.D. studies, Bakhtiari enrolled in an advanced inorganic chemistry course with Dr. Gary Long for the semester beginning in January 2002. Not satisfied with the ultimate grade he received in that course, Bakhtiari filed a grade appeal in August 2002, alleging that Dr. Long excessively missed class, mismanaged the course, and graded capriciously. A hearing on the matter was conducted in November 2002, and Bakhtiari's grade remained unchanged after that procedure. Unhappy with this result, Bakhtiari communicated with Dean Paula Lutz on numerous occasions between November 2002 and January 2004 to express his displeasure about the grade appeal outcome and to request further action. Also during this time period, Bakhtiari made complaints to UMR's international affairs office regarding UMR's compliance with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations. In October 2003, a UMR employee within the international affairs office reported to her supervisor that she met with Bakhtiari and they discussed DHS's "special registration" requirements for foreign nationals.

In December 2003, Bakhtiari filed a grievance with UMR's EEO Affirmative Action office, complaining that the student affairs office had treated him in a derogatory manner while investigating his possible involvement with anonymous emails sent to a female UMR student.

During the spring 2004 semester, Bakhtiari, in his position as a TA, was assigned to redesign and re-write the freshman chemistry laboratory syllabus. Classes began on January 12, 2004. However, later that same month, Bakhtiari was informed by Dr. Ekkehard Sinn, Chair of the Chemistry Department at UMR, that UMR had decided to dismiss him as a TA, effective immediately. No official reason for his dismissal was ever given. In February 2004, UMR administration officials ordered the information technology (IT) department to freeze Bakhtiari's computer account. In March 2004, Bakhtiari officially withdrew as a student because UMR officials demanded full tuition payment for that semester. Bakhtiari, however, continued to communicate with UMR officials about the status of his email account. Bakhtiari thought that even though a freeze had been placed on the account, the contents of the account would be preserved at least until February 2005, and there is evidence in the record to support this understanding. Nonetheless, UMR officials deleted Bakhtiari's email account in May 2004, but contend that they backed-up the contents of the account onto two CDs before doing so.

Bakhtiari brought this lawsuit in August 2004, alleging that UMR had retaliated against him for his complaints regarding the grade appeal process and for his complaints regarding the immigration and student affairs issues. Bakhtiari also alleged claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983, and state law for breach of contract and promissory estoppel. In the course of the litigation, UMR turned over the two CDs containing Bakhtiari's email account information. Bakhtiari contends that while parts of his email account are contained on the CDs, a large portion of the data is missing. Accordingly, Bakhtiari moved for sanctions due to spoliation of evidence with regard to his missing email data. In response, UMR submitted evidence to the district court that after its IT department copied the contents of the email account onto the CDs, the account was automatically deleted by campus automated systems maintenance. UMR also produced evidence that third parties had access to Bakhtiari's account before campus officials froze it, and argued that this could account for any allegedly missing data. The district court denied the motion for sanctions, finding no evidence that UMR acted with intent to destroy evidence.

UMR subsequently moved for summary judgment, which the district court granted. The district court found that Bakhtiari's prior complaints were not "protected activity" for purposes of a retaliation cause of action and that in any event, UMR offered legitimate reasons for terminating Bakhtiari's TA appointment. With regard to the section 1981 and 1983 claims and the state law claims, the district court held that because Bakhtiari sued UMR officials only in their official capacities, they were entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Spoliation

We review the district court's decision not to sanction UMR for spoliation of evidence for an abuse of discretion. Menz v. New Holland N. Am., Inc., 440 F.3d 1002, 1005 (8th Cir.2006). A spoliation sanction requires a finding that a party intentionally destroyed evidence with a desire to suppress the truth. Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Wade, 485 F.3d 1032, 1035 (8th Cir.2007).

The district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to sanction UMR for the alleged spoliation of evidence. UMR offered credible IT evidence that it had taken the appropriate steps to back-up Bakhtiari's electronic mail account onto CDs. The district court was entitled to credit UMR's explanations when resolving this evidentiary dispute and motion for sanctions. For example, UMR offered several alternatives as to what might have happened to allegedly missing emails, many of them attributable to Bakhtiari, or his representatives who had access to his email account before it was frozen. UMR also presented evidence that Bakhtiari himself had asked individuals to delete portions of his email account. Furthermore, we agree with the district court that the fact that deletion of his electronic account occurred before this lawsuit was filed further undercuts Bakhtiari's claims that UMR acted with a desire to suppress the truth. See id. (rejecting argument that "because litigation was likely, Greyhound had a duty to preserve ... data" and noting that "ultimate focus" for imposing spoliation sanctions is "the intentional destruction of evidence indicating a desire to suppress the truth, not the prospect of litigation"). Under these circumstances, we find that the district court did not abuse its discretion, and Bakhtiari's spoliation argument is without merit.²

B. Retaliation

Because there is no evidence, direct or circumstantial,³ "showing a specific link between" Bakhtiari and any alleged retaliatory practices prohibited by Title VII, Griffith v. City of Des Moines, 387 F.3d 733 (8th Cir.2004), the burden-shifting analysis set forth in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802-03, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973) applies. Under this analysis, the employee must first establish a prima facie case of retaliation by showing the following: (1) he engaged in statutorily protected activity; (2) the employer took an adverse action against him; and (3) a connection between the two occurrences. Green v. Franklin Nat'l Bank, 459 F.3d 903, 914 (8th Cir. 2006). "Protected activity" in this context includes opposition to employment practices prohibited under Title VII; however, a plaintiff employee need not establish that the conduct he opposed was in fact prohibited under Title VII; rather he need only demonstrate that he had a "good faith, reasonable belief that the underlying challenged conduct violated [Title VII]." Buettner v. Arch Coal Sales Co., 216 F.3d 707, 714 (8th Cir.2000).

If the plaintiff succeeds in establishing a prima facie case, a presumption of retaliation results, and the burden of production shifts to the employer, who must rebut the presumption with evidence of a legitimate, nonretaliatory reason for the challenged action. Green, 459 F.3d at 914. If the employer meets that burden, the employee may prevail by showing that the employer's reason was a pretext for retaliation. Id.

Bakhtiari cannot clear the first McDonnell Douglas hurdle because he did not engage in any "protected" actions as an employee of UMR within the meaning of a federal employment discrimination case. Bakhtiari alleges that his protected activity consisted of: his threat that he would pursue his grade appeal with the United States Department of Education; complaining to UMR's international affairs office about the way UMR handled matters pertaining to his student immigration status; and complaining that a UMR student affairs office employee spoke to him in a discriminatory manner during a student conduct investigation. All of these activities pertain to Bakhtiari's status as a student, however, and not as a TA employed by UMR.

Pursuing a grade appeal, even to the Department of Education, does not constitute protected action within the context of Bakhtiari's employment at UMR. In his deposition, Bakhtiari admitted that his grade appeal had "nothing" to do with his position as a TA, and only impacted the course that he...