Bianca v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 1 of Tulsa Cnty.
| Decision Date | 16 July 2013 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 11-CV-636-JED-FHM |
| Parties | JEFFREY A. BIANCA, Plaintiff, v. INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1 OF TULSA COUNTY a/k/a TULSA PUBLIC SCHOOLS, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Oklahoma |
The Court has for its consideration Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 42) and the Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 39) and Opening Brief in Support (Doc. 40) filed by defendants, Independent School District No. 1 of Tulsa County, Oklahoma ("TPS"), Michelle Butler, and Kenny Rodrequez (collectively, the "School Defendants"). Plaintiff, Jeffrey Bianca ("Bianca"), seeks partial summary judgment as to his Title IX retaliation claim and the School Defendants request summary judgment as to all of Bianca's claims against them.
Bianca was first employed full time by TPS in December of 2008. For the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years, he was assigned to Tulsa Met-Lombard School, an alternative school for high school students where at-risk children and children with behavioral issues are placed. Bianca was a teacher/advisor at Met-Lombard.
In the Summer of 2008, Bianca met defendant Marvin H. Jeter, III, Ph.D. ("Jeter") who, at that time, was Associate Superintendent for School Innovation at TPS. Bianca and Jeter had occasional professional interactions over the next two years and some social interactionbeginning in the Summer of 2010. Following the conclusion of the 2009-10 school year, Jeter's position was eliminated, but he was re-employed by TPS for the 2010-11 school year as the principal at Met-Lombard, where Bianca worked.
Shortly after the 2010-11 school year began, students began reporting to Bianca that they felt uncomfortable around Jeter. Bianca initially attributed this to the fact that the students perceived Jeter to be homosexual, as did Bianca. Bianca alleges that, around the same timeframe, Jeter began to act in a sexual manner towards him, which at that time he perceived only as playfulness. According to Bianca, these actions included attempts by Jeter to hold Bianca's hand, have Bianca sit on his lap, and Jeter's simulation of sexual thrusting while pulling Bianca towards him. Jeter's behavior towards Bianca eventually escalated. Bianca alleges that, one day during a week that the two were carpooling to work, Jeter entered Bianca's house with his penis exposed. Bianca also alleges that Jeter grabbed Bianca's crotch on numerous occasions, stuck his tongue in Bianca's ear, and engaged in other behavior Bianca considered inappropriate. Following these events, Bianca's notion that Jeter's conduct was merely playful abated.
On October 13, 2010, Bianca arranged an after-school meeting at a local restaurant with defendants Kenny Rodrequez ("Rodrequez"), TPS' Director of Alternative Education, and Michelle Butler ("Butler"), TPS' Safe Schools Coordinator. Bianca's intention was to discuss with Butler and Rodrequez a fight between two students and a teacher that had occurred that day, and to discuss with Rodrequez his concerns about Jeter's behavior. After Butler left the meeting, Bianca told Rodrequez about his concerns that Jeter may have been showing inappropriate attention to male students and that Jeter had behaved inappropriately towards him. That same day, while at Met-Lombard, Rodrequez had also been told by Cynthia Brown, a teacher at theschool, that she had been approached by male students who stated that Jeter had made them uncomfortable. Two days later, another Met-Lombard staffer, Ellen Duecker, told Rodrequez a similar story.
Bianca states that, after his meeting with Butler and Rodrequez on October 13, Jeter did not engage in any further alleged harassment of him. On October 19, 2010, TPS suspended Jeter and he did not return, resigning from his position shortly thereafter. Subsequently, Bianca met with another school official and law enforcement regarding Jeter's behavior. An investigation was opened by the Tulsa Police Department, but no charges were filed against Jeter. Butler replaced Jeter, becoming principal of Met-Lombard approximately one week after Jeter was suspended.
On January 27, 2011, Bianca contacted Butler and Rodrequez to report that he had learned from a female student at Met-Lombard that she had been receiving inappropriate text messages from a teacher and coach at East Central High School, Matt Bell ("Bell"). A police investigation was opened into the matter, but Bell was never terminated by TPS. The School Defendants allege that the female student refused to cooperate in the investigation.
On February 24, 2011, Butler observed Bianca in the classroom. On April 8, 2011, Bianca received the performance evaluation related to the February evaluation. Butler gave Bianca an overall weighted evaluation score of 2.17, which reflects an ineffective teacher under TPS standards. If a TPS teacher receives a score below 3, he or she is placed on a personal development plan, or PDP, which is intended to identify what areas need improvement. Butler and Rodrequez met with Bianca on April 8 to discuss his PDP. Among other things, they told him that he needed to conduct himself in a more professional manner. Bianca did not agree with the evaluation, but acknowledged that he needed "to get my shit together." (Doc. 41-1, at 213-14). Overall, Bianca perceived the meeting as positive because Butler and Rodrequez were complimentary of his abilities and he described it as "encouraging." (Id., at 214).
A review of Bianca's PDP was scheduled for May 5, 2011. Prior to that meeting, Butler and Rodrequez learned that, on May 2, 2011, Bianca had said "fuck that shit" in a parent-teacher conference with a student and the student's mother. (Id., at 203). That same day, Bianca told his class to "shut the fuck up" in what Bianca states was an attempt to end a verbal conflict between students which had turned violent the day before. (Id., at 204-05; 208-09). Bianca testified that his use of this language was effective in ending the confrontation. (Id., at 209). On May 2, Butler sent Bianca an email reprimanding him for the language and stating that it would be discussed further in their May 5 meeting.
On May 5, prior to their scheduled meeting, Butler learned that Bianca told another Met-Lombard teacher that he had taken a student to the Eclipse Cultural Coffee House ("Eclipse") where Bianca was performing as a DJ. Initially, Bianca took the student home from school and then went to Eclipse. Upon realizing that people of all ages were permitted inside, he left, picked the student up, and brought him to Eclipse. Bianca consumed alcohol during the time he and the student were there. At the end of the evening, the student was aware that Bianca had consumed alcohol and asked if he could drive Bianca home in Bianca's car. Bianca also permitted the student to take Bianca's car to the student's home and the student then picked Bianca up the next morning for school. Bianca was unaware that the student did not have a driver's license at the time and had not inquired about whether he was licensed to drive. According to Bianca, he had assumed that the student was licensed, as he had previously seen him driving a vehicle to school for a short period of time. As noted, Butler informed Rodrequez of this incident prior to their meeting with Bianca, but they allege that they did not raise it with him in the meeting becausethey were awaiting instructions from their superiors on how to proceed. In the May 5 meeting, Butler and Rodrequez informed Bianca that he was not in compliance with the PDP.
The following day Bianca was suspended. He received a due process hearing on June 21, 2011 and the school board voted to dismiss him. This vote took place despite the fact that Bianca had offered to resign under the condition that he be provided a neutral reference by TPS in the future. On August 29, 2011, Bianca filed the instant lawsuit in Tulsa County District Court against the School Defendants, as well as Dr. Keith E. Ballard, the Superintendent of TPS, Roberta Ellis, Chief Human Capital Officer for TPS, and Kevin Burr, Associate Superintendent for Secondary Schools for TPS.1 On October 17, 2011, the defendants removed the action to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, 1441, and 1446. On March 12, 2012, Jeter filed his counterclaim against Bianca for defamation. The School Defendants now seek summary judgment as to all of Bianca's claims against them.
Summary judgment is appropriate "if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23 (1986); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250 (1986). In considering a summary judgment motion, the courts determine "whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law." Anderson, 477 at 251-52. The evidence of the non-movant is to be taken as true, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in non-movant's favor. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255; see Ribeau v. Katt, 681 F.3d 1190, 1194 (10th Cir. 2012). "Credibility determinations, the weighing of evidence, and thedrawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury functions, not those of a judge . . . ruling on a motion for summary judgment. . . ." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255. "[A]t the summary judgment stage the judge's function is not himself to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249.
"When the moving party has carried its burden under Rule 56[a], its opponent must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87 (1986) (citations omitted)....
To continue reading
Request your trial