Brown v. Housing Auth. of Calvert County

• Citation: 150 F.Supp.2d 856
• Decision Date: 20 July 2001
• Docket Number: Civ.A. No. DKC 99-2254.
• Parties: Larry M. BROWN v. HOUSING AUTHORITY OF CALVERT COUNTY, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

150 F.Supp.2d 856

Larry M. BROWN v. HOUSING AUTHORITY OF CALVERT COUNTY, et al.

Civ.A. No. DKC 99-2254.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

July 20, 2001.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

H. Vincent McKnight, Jr., Law Office, Washington, DC, for plaintiff.

Shirlie N. Lake, R. Scott Krause, Eccleston & Wolf, P.C., Baltimore, MD, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

CHASANOW, District Judge.

Pending and ready for resolution in this employment discrimination action is the motion for summary judgment by Defendants Housing Authority of Calvert County (the "Housing Authority"); the "Office of the Executive Director;" Diane Herrmann, Housing Authority director of rental services; and the following members of the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners Spike W. Parrish; Judith T. McManus; the Rev. Aniachi C. Belu-John; Joseph P. Danahy; and Patricia A. Starliper.¹ Plaintiff asserts claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983 and Article 24 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights. No hearing is deemed necessary, and the court now rules pursuant to Local Rule 105.6. For the following reasons, the court shall GRANT Defendants' motion.

I. Background

The following facts are undisputed or presented in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, Larry M. Brown. On June 4, 1996, Plaintiff was hired by then Housing Authority Executive Director Michael Lundy under a one-year contract as a Family Self-Sufficiency Coordinator ("FSS Coordinator"). The FSS program is federally funded and designed to aid Housing Authority clients attain self-sufficiency through the establishment of set goals, such as education and employment, with the ultimate goal being home ownership. The overwhelming majority of FSS program participants are African American.

The FSS Coordinator reported directly to the executive director during Brown's tenure at the Housing Authority. Until Lundy resigned, Brown reported directly to him. After Lundy's departure, Parrish, vice chair of the Housing Authority Board, volunteered as executive director and instructed Brown to report to Herrmann, director of rental services. According to the Housing Authority organizational chart, the FSS Coordinator was directly under the director of rental services. However, Herrmann told Parrish that she would rather not supervise Brown. In his deposition, Brown testified that he, in fact, reported to Parrish and not to Herrmann. Herrmann also did not supervise Brown's predecessor, Carol Kalen, but admits that she does supervise Brown's successor, Amy Crisp, an African American. Margaret Reilly assumed the role of executive director after Parrish, and Plaintiff then reported to her.²

Plaintiff alleges that while at the Housing Authority, he was the victim of racial harassment because he did not have an office, was subjected to racial comments, and was denied training opportunities. When Plaintiff was hired, Lundy informed him that his office would be in Calvert Pines II, a senior residential facility, located apart from the Housing Authority's main office. Brown states that Lundy and another employee, Mary Stinnett, had informed him that his predecessor had an office at Calvert Pines II. Brown also saw FSS materials in the desk at the Calvert Pines II office. The former FSS Coordinator also worked at the administrative office, and either used the conference room or the offices of other staff members when they were not being used.

Once Parrish learned that Brown was working at Calvert Pines II, he informed Lundy that Brown had to move to the Housing Authority's main administrative facility, because Housing Authority policy precluded FSS/"Section Eight" clients from being interviewed at Calvert Pines II. Brown states that he did not know whether his predecessor ever interviewed clients at Calvert Pines II, and Parrish asserts that even if Brown's predecessor used the office at Calvert Pines II, it was without his knowledge.

At the main facility, Brown was allowed to use the executive director's office after Lundy resigned in late June 1996, and until Reilly assumed the executive director position on September 23. Brown was then moved to the conference room, which also served as a meeting place and lunch room for all staff. Brown complained about the fact that he did not have an office. Reilly invited Plaintiff to use her office for client meetings, but he states the one time he did, her desk was covered with papers. He admits that he never discussed with her the possibility of removing the papers in the future or otherwise clearing a space on her desk.

Plaintiff also alleges that other employees, including Herrmann, made racially derogatory comments about black tenants. Before Reilly was hired, Plaintiff complained about these comments to Parrish, who acknowledged the problem but instructed Plaintiff to wait until a new executive director was hired. Plaintiff later complained about these comments to Reilly. Finally, Plaintiff also alleges as part of his racial harassment claim that he was denied two training opportunities.

Plaintiff also claims that despite his excellent performance, he was fired, and attributes his discharge to his race. While at the Housing Authority, Plaintiff increased FSS program enrollment from 13 to 28 clients. Had he not increased enrollment to at least 25 participants, the FSS program could have lost its funding. Plaintiff also organized the first "formal" FSS Coordinating Committee meeting, and received compliments from Lundy and Parrish on his work performance.

Although Plaintiff admits that he reported to Reilly after she became executive director, he claims that Herrmann, as his supervisor, had control over his employment and played a role in his discharge. As evidence of Herrmann's influence, he contends that Herrmann told Reilly that she and Plaintiff did not get along, and that Herrmann also socialized with board members, who agreed with Reilly's decision to fire him.

During a three-week period beginning in September, Reilly called Housing Authority Board Chairperson Judith T. McManus several times to discuss problems she was having with Plaintiff. She complained that he resisted giving her certain FSS program information and that he had problems with accountability and productivity. Plaintiff was often out of the office, and Reilly asked him to provide her a calendar of his whereabouts and phone numbers where he could be reached. Plaintiff states that whenever he left the office, he would tell the secretary where he was going and when he would return. Reilly eventually told McManus that she felt terminating Plaintiff was the only solution. McManus told her that as executive director, it was her decision.

II. Standard of Review

It is well established that a motion for summary judgment will be granted only if there exists no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In other words, if there clearly exist factual issues "that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party," then summary judgment is inappropriate. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505; see also Pulliam Inv. Co., Inc. v. Cameo Properties, 810 F.2d 1282, 1286 (4th Cir. 1987); Morrison v. Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., 601 F.2d 139, 141 (4th Cir.1979); Stevens v. Howard D. Johnson Co., 181 F.2d 390, 394 (4th Cir.1950). The moving party bears the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c); Pulliam, 810 F.2d at 1286 (citing Charbonnages de France v. Smith, 597 F.2d 406, 414 (4th Cir.1979)).

When ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of and construe the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Tinsley v. First Union Nat'l Bank, 155 F.3d 435, 437 (4th Cir. 1998). A party who bears the burden of proof on a particular claim must factually support each element of his or her claim. "[A] complete failure of proof concerning an essential element ... necessarily renders all other facts immaterial." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Thus, on those issues on which the nonmoving party will have the burden of proof, it is his or her responsibility to confront the motion for summary judgment with an affidavit or other similar evidence. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

In Celotex, the Supreme Court stated:

In cases like the instant one, where the nonmoving party will bear the burden of proof at trial on a dispositive issue, a summary judgment motion may properly be made in reliance solely on the "pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file." Such a motion, whether or not accompanied by affidavits, will be "made and supported as provided in this rule," and Rule 56(e) therefore requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by 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. However, "`a mere scintilla of evidence is not enough to create a fact issue.'" Barwick v. Celotex Corp., 736 F.2d 946, 958-59 (4th Cir.1984) (quoting Seago v. North Carolina Theatres, Inc., 42 F.R.D. 627, 632 (E.D.N.C.1966), aff'd, 388 F.2d 987 (4th Cir.1967)). There must be "sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party. If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (citations omitted).

III. Analysis

A. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims

Defendant contends that Plaintiff is barred from asserting § 1983 claims of racial...