Blalock v. Dale County Bd. of Educ.

• Decision Date: 15 December 1999
• Docket Number: No. CIV. A. 97-D-650-S.,CIV. A. 97-D-650-S.
• Citation: 84 F.Supp.2d 1291
• Parties: Molly BLALOCK, Plaintiff, v. DALE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama

84 F.Supp.2d 1291

Molly BLALOCK, Plaintiff, v. DALE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., Defendants.

No. CIV. A. 97-D-650-S.

United States District Court, M.D. Alabama, Southern Division.

December 15, 1999.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Ann C. Robertson, Maury S. Weiner, Birmingham, Amy M. Shumate, Mike Gamble, Dothan, for Plaintiff.

Jack Corbitt, Ozark, Jere C. Segrest, Kevil Walding, Dothan, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

DE MENT, District Judge.

Before the court is Defendants Dale County Board of Education ("Board") and Chuck Monday's ("Monday") (collectively "Defendants") Motion For Summary Judgment, together with a Brief In Support Of Motion For Summary Judgment ("Br."), filed August 16, 1999. Also on August 16, 1999, Defendants filed an Evidentiary Submission ("Def.s' Evid. Sub.") in support of their Motion For Summary Judgment. On August 30, 1999, Plaintiff Molly Blalock ("Plaintiff") filed a Brief In Opposition To Motion For Summary Judgment Of Defendants, which the court construes as a Response ("Resp."), together with an Evidentiary Submission ("Pl.'s Evid Sub."). Defendants filed a Reply Brief In Support Of Motion For Summary Judgment ("Reply"), on September 8, 1999. After careful consideration of the arguments of counsel, the relevant law, and the record as a whole, the court finds that Defendants' Motion For Summary Judgment is due to be granted in part and denied in part.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

The court properly exercises subject matter jurisdiction over this action, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (federal question jurisdiction), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq. (Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq. (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended), and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (The Civil Rights Act of 1871, as amended). The Parties do not contest personal jurisdiction or venue.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

On a motion for summary judgment, the court construes the evidence and factual inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). Summary judgment can be entered on a claim only if it is shown "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). As the Supreme Court has explained:

[T]he plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. In such a situation, there can be no `genuine issue as to any material fact,' since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial.

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)).

The trial court's function at this juncture is not "to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (citations omitted). A dispute about a material fact is genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Barfield v. Brierton, 883 F.2d 923, 933 (11th Cir.1989).

The party seeking summary judgment has the initial burden of informing the court of the basis for the motion and of establishing, based on relevant "portions of `the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,'" that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (citing Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c)). The mechanics of satisfying the initial burden vary depending upon which party, the movant or the nonmovant, bears the burden of proof at trial. See Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta, 2 F.3d 1112, 1115 (11th Cir.1993) (detailing the nature of the parties' responsibilities when preparing or defending against a motion for summary judgment).

Once this initial demonstration under Rule 56(c) is made, the burden of production, not persuasion, shifts to the nonmoving party. The nonmoving party must "go beyond the pleadings and by [his or] her own affidavits, or by the `depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,' designate `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. In meeting this burden, the nonmoving party "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec Indus. Corp. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). That party must demonstrate that there is a "genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348; Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505. An action is void of a material issue for trial "[w]here the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party." Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff is a tenured teacher and an athletic coach in the Dale County, Alabama, school system. She has taught at Dale County High School since approximately 1974. (Pl.'s Dep. I at 11-12.)¹ During her tenure, she taught physical education and, at least after 1978, coached various female athletic sports, including volleyball, softball and basketball. (Resp. at 1; Br. at 1, 8-9.)

At all times pertinent to this action, the Board was Plaintiff's employer. Beginning in February 1993, Monday was the head football coach and athletic director for Dale County High School. Monday's job responsibilities included budgeting funds allocated for athletics at Dale County High School, evaluating the coaches and recommending job assignments for coaches. (Williams Dep. at 114.) Monday was not a member of the Board. (Resp. at 2; Pl.'s Dep. I at 38-39; Monday Aff. at 1; William Dep. at 28.)

Plaintiff alleges that she was treated less favorably than the male coaches. Primarily, she asserts the following: (1) that she was paid less than the male coaches (Pl.'s Dep. I at 33, 45, 62); (2) that unlike her male coach counterparts, Plaintiff did not have an assistant coach every year (Pl.'s Dep. I at 45, 64-65; Pl. Dep. II at 37-42; William Dep. at 33)²; (3) that the Board had one Athletic Director, who was Coach Monday, and denied Plaintiff's request in 1993 to create a separate position for Plaintiff as Women's Athletic Director³ (Def.s' Ex. 8 to Pl.'s Dep. I; Pl.'s Dep. I at 46, 66-68); (4) that Monday denied Plaintiff and her female athletic teams use of athletic facilities, such as the baseball field and weight room (Pl.'s Dep. I at 33, 47, 53-54, 105-107; Pl.'s Dep. II at 15-16)⁴; (5) that Plaintiff and her teams were treated as inferior to the male teams with respect to sports equipment, locker rooms, restroom facilities, uniforms,⁵ food allowances, and hotel accommodations at away games (Pl.'s Dep. I at 47, 66, 93-94, 110-114, 117-118, 137; Jackson Dep. at 69-70, 74); (6) that unlike the male coaches, Plaintiff had additional job responsibilities, which included washing the team uniforms and driving the school bus to transport her teams to and from athletic events (Pl.'s Dep. I at 46, 49-50, 52-53, 57, 123-124, 130-132; Pl.'s Dep. II at 35-36); (7) that in either 1993 or 1994 Monday required Plaintiff to attend all school athletic club meetings, which caused Plaintiff to quit a part-time job; unlike Plaintiff, however, Monday did not require all of the male coaches to attend the athletic club meetings (Pl.'s Dep. I at 52; Pl.'s Dep. II at 4-5, 9-10); and (8) that Plaintiff did not have the same benefits as male coaches with respect to money allowances for coaches' uniforms and out-of-town hotel accommodations at coaches' training clinics. (Pl.'s Dep. I at 48-49, 58-59.)

Plaintiff also asserts that, as a result of being treated as an inferior female coach, she was burdened with extra work. That is, Plaintiff did not have an assistant coach to help her prepare for out-of-town games; thus, Plaintiff had to handle all the administrative details, such as securing transportation, making reservations, and filling out purchase orders and paperwork concerning funds. (Pl.'s Dep. II at 23-25.) Eventually, in April 1994, when Plaintiff was coaching three sports — volleyball, softball and basketball — she requested to be relieved of coaching basketball. Monday, however, told her that she may have to be transferred to another school if she resigned from coaching basketball. Because she "was afraid" she would be transferred, Plaintiff did not resign and coached basketball during the 1994-95 academic year. (Br. at 26-27; Pl.'s Dep. I at 71-79, 81, 87-89.)⁶

Plaintiff says she consistently complained to her superiors about the alleged unfair treatment between her and the female teams she coached and the male coaches and their teams. (Pl.'s Dep. I at 93.) Namely, she complained to "every coach and principal" through the years, as well as to the Board members. (Id. at 110-111.) As evidence of her consistent complaints, Plaintiff asserts that in 1994 she asked Monday if she could purchase the same type of bases for the softball field that were used on the baseball field. Monday responded that "he was sick and tired of [Plaintiff] comparing everything that ... the boys had to what the girls had." (Resp. at 6; Pl.'s Dep. I at 56-57; Pl.'s Dep. II at 31-34.) Additionally, in either 1995 or 1996, a parent told Plaintiff that Monday had commented that "girls had no business" competing...