Castro v. Yale Univ.

• Decision Date: 09 February 2021
• Docket Number: Civil No. 3:20cv330 (JBA)
• Citation: 518 F.Supp.3d 593
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: Mia CASTRO, M.D., Heidi Boules, M.D., Ashley Eltorai, M.D., Jodi-Ann Oliver, M.D., Lori-Ann Oliver, M.D. and Elizabeth Reinhart, M.D., Plaintiffs, v. YALE UNIVERSITY, Yale New Haven Hospital, Inc. and Manuel Lopes Fontes, M.D, in his individual and professional capacities, Defendants

518 F.Supp.3d 593

Mia CASTRO, M.D., Heidi Boules, M.D., Ashley Eltorai, M.D., Jodi-Ann Oliver, M.D., Lori-Ann Oliver, M.D. and Elizabeth Reinhart, M.D., Plaintiffs,

v.YALE UNIVERSITY, Yale New Haven Hospital, Inc. and Manuel Lopes Fontes, M.D, in his individual and professional capacities, Defendants,

Civil No. 3:20cv330 (JBA)

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

Signed February 9, 2021

Douglas Holden Wigdor, Michael J. Willemin, Tanvir H. Rahman, Wigdor LLP, New York, NY, Todd D. Steigman, Madsen, Prestley & Parenteau, LLC, Hartford, CT, Parisis G. Filippatos, Filippatos PLLC, Pleasantville, NY, for Plaintiffs.

Patrick M. Noonan, Donahue, Durham & Noonan, Guilford, CT, Sarah R. Skubas, Jackson Lewis - P.C., Hartford, CT, for Defendant Yale University.

Kasia M. Preneta, Sarah R. Skubas, Jackson Lewis PC, Hartford, CT, for Defendant Yale New Haven Hospital Inc.

Aimee Jennifer Wood, Margaret M. Sheahan, Reese Burdette Mitchell, Robert Burdette Mitchell, Mitchell & Sheahan, P.C., Stratford, CT, for Defendant Manuel Lopes Fontes.

Manuel Lopes Fontes, Madison, CT, pro se.

ORDER DENYING IN PART AND GRANTING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO DISMISS

Janet Bond Arterton, U.S.D.J.

Plaintiffs Heidi Boules, M.D., Mia Castro, M.D., Ashley Eltorai, M.D., Jodi-Ann Oliver, M.D., Lori-Ann Oliver, M.D., and Elizabeth Reinhart, M.D., bring suit against Yale University ("Yale"), Yale New Haven Hospital, Inc. ("YNNH"), and Manuel Lopes Fontes, M.D. claiming sex discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, and Title IX of the Education Amendment Act of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681, and sex discrimination in violation of the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CFEPA), Conn. Gen Stat. 46a-60, against Yale and YNNH, retaliation in violation of the CFEPA against all three Defendants, aiding and abetting in violation of the CFEPA against Dr. Fontes, and state tort claims of assault, battery, and invasion of privacy against Dr. Fontes under the Court's supplemental jurisdiction. (Second Amended Compl.

(SAC) [Doc. # 102] at 53-63.) Defendants Yale, YNNH, and Dr. Fontes move to dismiss. (Fontes Mot. to Dismiss [Doc. # 50]; YNNH's Mot. to Dismiss [Doc. # 51]; Yale's Mot. to Dismiss [Doc. # 53].) Plaintiffs oppose all motions. (Pls.’ Omnibus Mem. of Law in Opp. to All Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss [Doc. # 61] at 13-14.) For the reasons that follow, Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss are DENIED in part and GRANTED in part.¹

I. Background Allegations about Dr. Fontes

Plaintiffs Mia Castro, M.D., Heidi Boules, M.D., Ashley Eltorai, M.D., Jodi-Ann Oliver, M.D., Lori-Ann Oliver, M.D. and Elizabeth Reinhart, M.D., all female doctors in the Yale Department of Anesthesiology and involved with the residency program of YNNH, allege that Dr. Fontes, their supervisor at YNNH and Yale, sexually harassed them by making inappropriate and sexualized comments, forcibly touching and kissing them, and professionally punishing them for speaking out. They allege that Yale and YNNH turned a blind eye to Fontes's actions by allowing him to harass his female subordinates with impunity and perpetuated a hostile environment by elevating Dr. Fontes to be Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Department of Anesthesiology despite repeated complaints about his behavior.

i. Dr. Jodi-Ann Oliver – Attending Physician at YNNH and Faculty Member at Yale

Dr. Jodi-Ann Oliver alleges her harassment began in 2016 when Dr. Fontes repeatedly "touch[ed] her lower back, slipp[ed] his hand down to her backside, and unwantedly and inappropriately hugg[ed] her" at a pediatric anesthesiology retreat. (SAC ¶ 173.) When she reported the misconduct to the Division Chief, he told her that Dr. Fontes was "handsy" and "affectionate" because of his heritage. The next year, when Dr. Oliver requested an accommodation for an injured wrist, "Dr. Fontes called her a ‘malingerer,’ told her to ‘shut up’ and ‘shut the f--k up,’ and that he would ‘fire her if she kept talking.’ " (Id. ¶ 176.) Dr. Fontes also opposed her appointment to a position on the Pediatric Anesthesiologist Fellowship committee because she was a "malingerer." She again reported the mistreatment to both the Division Chief and Dr. Roberta Hines, the Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, but neither followed up.

Dr. Oliver's next incident with Dr. Fontes was at a colleague's’ going-away party in mid-2018 when Dr. Fontes repeatedly rubbed her arms and back and made whispered sexual advances in her ear, commenting on her figure and calling her his "island girl." In April 2019, at another professional dinner, Dr. Fontes again rubbed Dr. Oliver's arms, neck, back, and shoulders, commented on her figure, and made whispered sexual advances to her throughout the dinner. At the end of the dinner, while inebriated, Dr. Fontes "gave her an unsolicited hug, put his hands all over her body, and proceeded to forcibly kiss her on the lips." (Id. ¶ 186.) Considering the lack of response to her prior reports, Dr. Oliver did not report the inappropriate touching, unwanted hug, or forcible kissing. As a result of Dr. Fontes's actions, Dr. Oliver was "deeply offended and deeply devasted." (Id. ¶ 192.)

ii. Dr. Lori-Ann Oliver - Attending Physician at YNNH and Faculty Member at Yale

Dr. Lori-Ann Oliver, sister of Jodi-Ann, describes her experience with Dr. Fontes's inappropriate comments about her figure and that he would "unwantedly grab her and rub her shoulders, touch her lower back, hug her, grab her by the waist and pull her towards him, and put his face close to hers, violating her personal space" when she would see him in the hallways. (Id. ¶ 188.) She informed the Division Chief of the Pain Management section of the Department of Anesthesiology about Dr. Fontes's behavior in fall of 2018, but no follow up occurred. Dr. Lori-Ann Oliver was also at the April 2019 dinner where Dr. Fontes forcibly kissed her sister Dr. Jodi-Ann Oliver and, after forcing himself on her sister, Dr. Fontes "grabbed [Dr. Lori-Ann Oliver] by her arms, pulled her towards him, and forced his tongue down her mouth and kissed her on the lips as well." (Id. ¶ 187.) Following this interaction, Dr. Fontes continued harassing Dr. Oliver, coming up to squeeze her shoulders and "put his hand on her back and around her waist" at an anesthesiology conference in October 2019. (Id. ¶ 190.) Dr. Lori-Ann Oliver reports feeling "mortified" by and fearful of Dr. Fontes and was "deeply offended and deeply devasted" by Dr. Fontes's actions. (Id. ¶¶ 191-92.)

iii. Dr. Heidi Boules – Attending Physician at YNNH and Assistant Professor at Yale

Dr. Boules alleges Dr. Fontes began harassing her as early as her interview dinner in late 2017 when he sat and spoke so closely next to her that another doctor switched seats with her because she looked uncomfortable. Later, in mid-2018, Dr. Fontes "repeatedly touched and groped [her] arm, leg and thigh as he sat next to her" at a going-away dinner. (Id. ¶ 103.) After the dinner, Dr. Fontes solicited one-on-one meetings with Dr. Boules, sending messages with emojis of alcoholic beverages in them to imply that the meeting would not be professional, and eventually succeeded in securing a meeting with Dr. Boules and a male colleague, where Dr. Fontes "made repeated overtly sexist, sexual and inappropriate comments" that made Dr. Boules feel uncomfortable. (Id. ¶ 104.) Then, at a one-on-one professional meeting at a café in October 2018, Dr. Fontes proceeded to "grab Dr. Boules's face, pull her face close to his and forcibly and unwantedly kiss her on the lips" three or four times, despite Dr. Boules's repeated objections. (Id. ¶ 108.) Just a few days later, Dr. Fontes again attempted to "forcibly and unwantedly kiss [her] on the lips" while at the hospital. (Id. ¶ 109.) The physical touching continued in July 2019, when Dr. Fontes unwantedly hugged Dr. Boules, and in September 2019, when Dr. Fontes snuck up behind Dr. Boules in the operating room, "leaned the front of his body into her backside, put his cheek against her cheek, [ ] whispered into her ear about how quiet the operating room was," and asked her on a date. (Id. ¶ 110.)

In addition to the unwanted touching, Dr. Fontes failed to discipline a male surgeon at the hospital who told a third male colleague of Dr. Boules to "get your bitch under control, she's a cunt." (Id. ¶ 111.) Despite others witnessing the behavior and Dr. Boules reporting the male surgeon's actions, when Dr. Boules spoke to Dr. Hines, Dr. Hines "referred to the male surgeon, in sum and substance, as a ‘bad boy’, [ ] that ‘everyone knows [is] crazy’ and instructed Dr. Boules to not ‘let it get to you.’ " (Id. ) When Dr. Boules reached out to Dr. Friedman, Chief Medical Experience Officer at YNNH, about the harassment, she did not receive a response. As result of Dr. Fontes's actions, Dr. Boules reports "feeling demeaned, traumatized, and afraid to be left alone with Dr. Fontes." (Id. ¶ 113.)

iv. Dr. Elizabeth Reinhart – Anesthesiology Resident at Yale and YNNH

Dr. Reinhart alleges that Dr. Fontes's harassment of her began in May 2019 when, at the end of a professional dinner with pharmaceutical representatives, Dr. Fontes "attempted to unwantedly kiss her on the lips" and then, after she avoided his advance by turning her face, followed her out of the restaurant and insisted on driving her home. (Id. ¶ 197-98.) The following month at a graduation ceremony, Dr. Fontes asked if she was going out later and tried to entice her by saying, "I have misbehaved in the past at Barcelona after graduation, so what happens there stays there." (Id. ¶ 201.) He later "wrapped his arm around and hugged her by the waist" and told her that he would see her at the bar later. (Id. ¶ 203.) Dr. Reinhart was so shaken up by the encounter that she spent the night at another physician's home, who then reported the incident to the Residency Coordinator. A few weeks later, Dr. Fontes came up...