Brewer v. Board of Trustees of the Univ. Of Ill.
| Decision Date | 22 December 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 02-2204.,02-2204. |
| Parties | Lonnell BREWER, Plaintiff, v. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, Kerrin Thompson, in her individual capacity, L. Denise Hendricks, in her individual capacity, Wallace Hendricks, in his individual capacity, Peter Feuille, in his individual capacity, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Central District of Illinois |
Joanna C. Fryer, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff.
James C. Kearns, Monica Hersh Khetarpal Sholar, Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen, Urbana, IL, for Defendants.
In September 2002, Plaintiff, Lonnell Brewer, filed a Complaint (# 1) against Defendants Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Kerrin Thompson, L. Denise Hendricks, Wallace Hendricks, and Peter Feuille, alleging discrimination in employment and violation of his constitutional and statutory rights in connection with his education. Federal jurisdiction is based on federal question (28 U.S.C. § 1331). The parties have consented to the exercise of jurisdiction by a United States Magistrate Judge.
In July 2005, Defendant Board of Trustees (hereinafter "Board") filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (#24). After reviewing the parties' pleadings and memoranda, this Court GRANTS Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (#24).
Plaintiff alleges that he is an African-American with a learning disability. At relevant times, Kerrin Thompson was special assistant to the director of the University of Illinois Personnel Services Office (hereinafter "PSO"); Denise Hendricks was assistant vice-president of human resources, associate vice-chancellor for administrative affairs, and director of the PSO; Peter Feuille was a professor and the director of the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations (hereinafter "ILIR") at the University of Illinois; and Wallace Hendricks was a professor in the ILIR and Denise Hendricks' husband.
In August 1997, Plaintiff enrolled in the master's degree program at the ILIR. Beginning August 28, 1997, he worked for the University of Illinois as a research assistant assigned to the PSO.1 His assistantship was terminated in April 1998. On June 18, 1998, he was dismissed from the master's degree program. (#1, ¶ 24.)
Plaintiff's complaint consists of five counts, as follows: (1) Count I, against all Defendants, alleges race discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq.); (2) Count II alleges that the Board of Trustees, Thompson, and Denise Hendricks violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.) (hereinafter "ADA"); (3) Count III alleges that Thompson, Denise Hendricks, Wallace Hendricks, and Feuille violated Plaintiff's constitutional and statutory rights; (4) Count IV, against all Defendants, alleges a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d, et seq.); and (5) Count V, against all Defendants, alleges retaliation.
In its May 2003 Order (#14), the Court dismissed Plaintiff's ADA claim in Count II, the constitutional claim in Count III, and the claims against Kerrin Thompson, Denise Hendricks, Wallace Hendricks, and Peter Feuille in their individual capacities in Counts I, IV, and V. Thus, the Board is the only Defendant in this case. The claims remaining in this case include the following: (1) In Count I, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Board violated Title VII because Plaintiff was subject to continuous and ongoing acts of race discrimination from supervisors, managers, and faculty; (2) in Count IV, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant violated Title VI because it denied Plaintiff the benefits of participation in the ILIR master's degree program based on his race; and (3) in Count V, Plaintiff alleges that he was subject to adverse actions in retaliation for his complaints to Ron Bacevich, a Labor Relations Specialist in the PSO, and Denise Hendricks regarding discrimination that preceded or occurred in connection with the termination of his employment at the PSO.
As an initial matter, Plaintiff's claim of retaliation in Count V is based on the premise that he complained of racial discrimination to Denise Hendricks and Ronald Bacevich. The Court notes that Plaintiff has stated that he is not offering Mr. Bacevich's statements in Paragraphs 9 to 12 of the affidavit as proof of the matter asserted. Consistent with this response, the Court must limit its consideration of those statements. As a result, Plaintiff cannot rely on Bacevich's statements in those paragraphs to support his proposed material facts or to challenge Defendant's proposed material facts.
Summary judgment is granted "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the Court must decide, based on the evidence of record, whether there is any material dispute of fact that requires a trial. Waldridge v. Am. Hoechst Corp., 24 F.3d 918, 920 (7th Cir.1994). The party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of showing that no such issue of material fact exists. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
The Court must draw all inferences in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). However, the nonmoving party may not rest upon mere allegations in the pleadings or upon conclusory statements in affidavits; rather, he must go beyond the pleadings and support his contentions with proper documentary evidence. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Pursuant to Rule 56(b), when a properly supported motion for summary judgment is made, the adverse party must set forth specific facts showing that a genuine issue exists as to any material fact and that the moving party is not entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A scintilla of evidence in support of the nonmovant's position is not sufficient to oppose successfully a summary judgment motion; "there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the [nonmovant]." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment against a party who fails 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. Id. "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." Id.
The parties disagree about many of the facts in this case. At times, the evidence provided by the parties clears up the dispute; at other times, the dispute is of the "dueling affidavits" variety. Where facts are contested, the Court must accept the factual assertions of the nonmoving party when ruling on a motion for summary judgment. Pardo v. Hosier, 946 F.2d 1278, 1280 (7th Cir.1991). Thus, the following recitation is based on the evidence and, where a dispute exists that the evidence does not resolve, the Court accepts Plaintiff's version of the disputed facts.
Plaintiff, an African-American, enrolled in the ILIR master's degree program in August 1997. At that time, the program required a student to complete ten units, with each unit being one class. Most students complete the program in a year and a half, taking four units during the first semester and three units during the second and third semesters. Plaintiff wanted to complete the program in one calendar year. As a result, he inquired about the possibility of taking five units in the fall semester. Although this is an unusual arrangement, Plaintiff persuaded Professor Michael LeRoy, his academic advisor, to approve a five-unit course load. (LeRoy dep., pp. 97, 16.) In addition to his class load, Plaintiff worked approximately ten hours at an assistantship, worked at the University's rehabilitation center as its primary speaker, and was interviewing for jobs.
By the end of the fall semester, Plaintiff was falling behind in his course work. Professor Wallace Hendricks taught one of Plaintiff's courses during the fall semester. He testified that Plaintiff failed to show up for some lab sessions, which negatively affected Plaintiff's grade. (Hendricks dep., pp. 94, 32.) In other courses, Plaintiff asked Professor Martocchio for an extension to turn in a paper in December 1997, and he asked Professor LeRoy for extensions to complete final exams in two classes. (Brewer dep., pp. 51-53; Martocchio dep., p. 17; LeRoy dep., pp. 17, 19.) Although LeRoy granted the extensions, he informed Plaintiff that he would impose a penalty. (LeRoy dep., pp. 17, 19.) Plaintiff eventually completed the paper and turned in the finals by the extended due dates.
At the end of the fall semester, Plaintiff's grade point average (hereinafter "GPA") was 2.866. As a result, in keeping with ILIR policy, Plaintiff was considered to be on limited status. In January 1998, Professor LeRoy, in his capacity as chairman of the On-Campus Committee (hereinafter "Committee"), sent Plaintiff a letter stating, in pertinent part, as follows:
The On-Campus Committee has reviewed Fall 1997 semester grades. After...
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