Benjamin v. Sparks

• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of North Carolina
• Writing for the Court: JAMES C. DEVER III, Chief United States District Judge
• Citation: Benjamin v. Sparks, 173 F.Supp.3d 272 (E.D. N.C. 2016)
• Decision Date: 23 March 2016
• Docket Number: No. 4:14-CV-186-D,4:14-CV-186-D
• Parties: Saul Hillel Benjamin, Plaintiff, v. Nicholas Sparks, et al., Defendants.

173 F.Supp.3d 272

Saul Hillel Benjamin, Plaintiff,

v.Nicholas Sparks, et al., Defendants.

No. 4:14-CV-186-D

United States District Court, E.D. North Carolina, Eastern Division.

Signed March 23, 2016

Douglas H. Wigdor, Christopher R. Lepore, Lawrence M. Pearson, Michael J. Willemin, Michelle L. Kornblit, Wigdor LLP, New York, NY, Kristen E. Finlon, James, McElroy & Diehl, P.A., Charlotte, NC, for Plaintiff.

Danielle Nicole Godfrey, Richard Leonard Pinto, Deborah J. Bowers, Pinto Coates Kyre & Bowers, PLLC, Camilla Frances DeBoard, Kenneth B. Rotenstreich, Teague, Rotenstreich, Stanaland, Fox & Holt, LLP, Greensboro, NC, Theresa Marie Sprain, Hayden J. Silver, III, Marina Chase Carreker, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC, Raleigh, NC, for Defendants.

ORDER

JAMES C. DEVER III, Chief United States District Judge

On October 2, 2014, Saul Hillel Benjamin (“plaintiff” or “Benjamin”) filed suit against The Epiphany School of Global Studies (“Epiphany”), Nicholas Sparks Foundation (“Foundation”), Nicholas Sparks (“Sparks”), Melissa Blackerby (“Blackerby”), Tracey Lorentzen (“Lorentzen”), and McKinley Gray (“Gray”) (collectively, “defendants”). Compl. [D.E. 1] 1. Benjamin alleged 19 claims under state and federal law arising out of his former employment as headmaster of Epiphany and as a Foundation contractor. Id.¶¶ 119-218. On December 19, 2014, defendants moved (in two separate motions) to dismiss the complaint. See[D.E. 19, 20]. On February 23, 2015, Benjamin moved to amend his complaint [D.E. 32]. On May 22, 2015, the court granted Benjamin leave to amend his complaint [D.E. 51]. On May 28, 2015, Benjamin filed an amended complaint asserting 16 claims for relief. See Am. Compl. [D.E. 51] ¶¶ 119-204.

On June 11, 2015, defendants moved to dismiss the amended complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See[D.E. 54, 55] (motion to dismiss and accompanying memorandum filed by Epiphany, Nicholas Sparks in his official capacity, Tracey Lorentzen, Melissa Blackerby, and McKinley Gray); [D.E. 56, 57] (motion to dismiss and accompanying memorandum filed by Nicholas Sparks in his individual capacity and the Foundation). Benjamin responded [D.E. 58, 59], and defendants replied [D.E. 61, 62]. As explained below, the court grants defendants' motions to dismiss and dismisses claims one and two against Blackerby, Lorentzen, and Gray, claims five, twelve, thirteen, claim fourteen against Gray and Lorentzen, and claim sixteen. Blackerby, Lorentzen, and Gray are dismissed as defendants in this action.

I.

In 2006, Sparks founded Epiphany, a private, co-educational school. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 2, 14. Defendants Blackerby, Lorentzen, Gray, and Sparks are members of Epiphany's Board of Trustees (the “Board”), and Sparks serves as chair of the Board. Id.¶¶ 16-19. The Foundation is a non-profit Corporation that supports Epiphany. See id.¶ 15.

In February 2013, Epiphany hired Benjamin as its headmaster and CEO. Id.¶¶ 20-22. Benjamin signed an employment agreement with Epiphany and also received additional compensation pursuant to an independent contractor agreement with the Foundation. See id.¶ 120.

While recruiting Benjamin, Sparks told Benjamin that Sparks expected Benjamin to improve Epiphany, “tak[ing] our little school and mak[ing] it amazing, global, and open-hearted.” Id.¶ 24. Benjamin “embarked upon an ambitious agenda” to accomplish this goal, beginning “an innovative curricular initiative” for Epiphany's high school, implementing a new decisionmaking system, and proposing to the Board a new, comprehensive policy statement regarding non-discrimination. Id.¶¶ 25-26. To remedy what he perceived to be a lack of diversity at Epiphany, Benjamin advocated hiring qualified African-American faculty and staff and personally recruited Epiphany's first African-American full-time faculty member. Id.¶¶ 32-33. Benjamin also organized a student trip to Washington, D.C., to observe the 50th anniversary of the 1963 civil rights march and used the opportunity to discuss racial diversity at Epiphany. See id.¶ 35.

Benjamin began to receive criticism from some Board members for his efforts to increase diversity. Sparks and Gray told Benjamin that some of his actions were “provocative” and, in late November 2013, Sparks specifically told Benjamin “not to criticize Ms. Janet Foley, Epiphany's Director of Admissions, for her failure to ... recruit or enroll African-American students.” Id.¶¶ 34, 36. Benjamin also alleges that members of the Board, including Gray and Lorentzen, “openly displayed contempt for [his] Jewish ethnicity. For example,... [after hearing Benjamin refer to ‘the Rabbi Jesus' when reading original Hebrew and Greek sources of the New Testament], Lorentzen and Gray warned Mr. Benjamin, ‘Don't ever refer to Jesus Christ as a Rabbi!’ ” Id.¶ 37.

When Benjamin tried to protect students from bullying based on their sexual orientation and sexual identity, some Board members “demonized” his efforts. Id.¶¶ 38-41. Specifically, in October 2013, a group of students began a club to discuss sexual identity and sexual orientation. Id.¶ 38. When other students learned of the club, student bullying occurred. Id.¶¶ 39-40. When Benjamin and Epiphany's deputy headmaster began to investigate the student bullying, members of the Board undermined their efforts, prohibiting students from discussing sexual identity or sexual orientation. Id.¶ 41. Sparks asked Benjamin, “What's with this gay club?” and told Benjamin to stop supporting the bullied students. Id. More generally, Board members did not support other faculty members who supported the bullied students. Lorentzen and Blackerby threatened several faculty members with dismissal if they continued to support the bullied students and threatened legal action if the faculty members complained about the dismissal threats. Id.¶ 42. Lorentzen and Blackerby also threatened a bisexual teacher with dismissal if she publically supported the students. Id.

On October 29, 2013, Sparks asked Benjamin not to talk about “Islam, Judaism, or any other non-Christian religion at any Epiphany function.” Id.¶¶ 43-44. He also spoke to Benjamin about attending a local event keynoted by a member of the NAACP, telling Benjamin that several parents of children at Epiphany had raised concerns about his attendance at the event. Id.¶¶ 45-47. Sparks told Benjamin that, if he wished to contact African-American parents to encourage their children to apply to Epiphany, he should use other, less public, means. Id. At the same meeting, Sparks told Benjamin to keep discussions about homosexuality or sexual identity out of larger discussions of diversity at Epiphany. Id.¶ 48. Finally, Sparks asked Benjamin to hire as Epiphany's school chaplain a “true Christian,” specifically excluding any Quaker, Mormon, Seventh Day Adventist, or Jehovah's Witness candidates. Id.¶ 49.

On October 30, 2013, the Board pressured Benjamin to “stop supporting students who had been bullied based on their sexual identities.” Id.¶ 50. Gray accused Benjamin of “promoting a homosexual culture and agenda” through his behavior and accused him of breaching his employment contract by doing so. Id. Blackerby and Lorentzen agreed. Id.

On November 9, 2013, at a dinner party, several parents expressed doubt that Benjamin would hire a “true Christian” as Epiphany's chaplain because of Benjamin's Jewish ethnicity and Quaker religious beliefs. See id.¶¶ 4, 52. Sparks later told Benjamin that some parents “will never trust [Benjamin] because of who [Benjamin is.]” Id.¶ 53. On November 16, 2013, Lorentzen and Cathy Sparks (Sparks's wife and a Board member) visited Benjamin's home, asked him a series of “offensive and invasive questions about his religious beliefs,” reiterated that he should hire a “true Christian as chaplain,” and demanded that Benjamin stop discussing diversity. Id.¶¶ 54-58. In November, Sparks also wrote to Benjamin and stated that Epiphany's new comprehensive anti-discrimination policy was unnecessary. Id.¶ 60. On November 19, 2013, because Benjamin's “efforts to foster diversity had led the Board to question the acceptability of his religious beliefs,” the Board held a public forum. Id.¶ 61. At the public forum, Benjamin gave a verbal account of his religious beliefs (an act which Benjamin found antithethical to his Quaker beliefs) and explained the influence of his Jewish heritage and ethnicity on those views. Id.¶¶ 62-63. Gray then solicited comments about Benjamin from the audience members, and the Board, including Sparks, Lorentzen, Blackerby, and Gray, applauded Benjamin's “public pillorying.” Id.¶¶ 64-66.

On November 21, 2013, Benjamin met with Sparks, Lorentzen, and Gray in a conference room at Epiphany. Id.¶¶ 69-70. Sparks initially told Benjamin he was being fired “for Cause from the Foundation.” Id.¶¶ 71. Sparks then insisted that Benjamin sign a letter of resignation from Epiphany or be terminated “for Cause.” Id.¶ 73.¹ Benjamin asked for time to think about the demand, but he “was told to sign immediately.” Id.¶ 74. Sparks, Gray, and Lorentzen told Benjamin “that he would not be allowed to leave the room, even to use the restroom ... until he signed.” Id. Benjamin asked to speak with a lawyer, but Gray refused. Id. Benjamin asked for his special assistant to join the meeting, but the Board refused. Id.¶ 75. Benjamin asked for his wife to join the meeting, and the Board initially denied this request as well but eventually allowed Benjamin's wife to join the group in the conference room. Id. Throughout the meeting, Sparks “berated” Benjamin, “acted in a loud, ranting, and physically intimidating manner,” and “physically intimidated Mr. Benjamin.” Id.¶¶ 70-78. Benjamin, “[f]earing for his and his wife's safety,” agreed to sign a letter of resignation. Id.¶¶ 76-77. Sparks and Gray dictated the letter to Benjamin, who transcribed their words and signed his name. Id.

After Benjamin left, Sparks told Benjamin's wife that Benjamin had been...