Chapin v. University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Civil Action No. 96-10291-RCL.
| Decision Date | 11 September 1997 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 96-10291-RCL. |
| Parties | Madonna CHAPIN, Plaintiff v. UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AT LOWELL, Paul Parent, George Theokas, and James W. Rowe, Defendants |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts |
Wendy A. Kaplan, Boston, MA, Mark D. Stern, Law Office of Mark D. Stern, P.C., Somerville, MA, Floyd H Anderson, Kassler & Feuer, P.C., Boston, MA, for Madonna Chapin.
Peter M. Michaelson, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA, for University of Massachusetts at Lowell, James W. Rowe.
Lawrence D. Humphrey, Joseph G. Donnellan, International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Quincy, MA, Paul Parent.
Thomas Sweeney, Eliades & Barry, Lowell, MA, for George Theokas.
Memorandum and Order on Motion to Dismiss Procedural Background
This case involves the alleged sexual harassment of the plaintiff, Madonna Chapin, while she was employed as an officer of the Police Department of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell ("UML"). Now before the court are motions filed by James Rowe, the chief of the UML Police Department, and George Theokas, a sergeant of the UML Police Department, to dismiss the second amended complaint1 No motion has been filed by defendant Paul Parent, an officer of the UML Police Department alleged to be an acting shift supervisor during the period relevant to the second amended complaint. Chapin complains of employment discrimination by UML, in violation of Title VII (count one); aiding and abetting discrimination by Parent, Theokas, and Rowe, in violation of Mass. Gen. L. ch. 151B § 4(5) ("ch. 151B § 4(5)") (count two); sexual harassment against Parent and Theokas, prohibited by Mass. Gen. L. ch. 214 § 1C ("ch. 214 § 1C") (count three); violation of her civil rights (presumably under 42 U.S.C. § 1993) by Parent, Theokas, and Rowe (count four); assault and battery upon her by Parent and Theokas (count five); and intentional infliction of emotional distress upon her by Parent and Theokas (count six).
Defendant Rowe has moved to dismiss the two remaining claims against him, aiding and abetting discrimination (count two) and the claim for civil rights violation (count four). Defendant Theokas has moved to dismiss all of the remaining claims against him, counts two through six.
On a motion to dismiss, the court is required to take all of the allegations in the complaint as true and to draw, in the plaintiff's favor, all reasonable inferences from those allegations. See Kiely v. Raytheon Co., 105 F.3d 734, 735 (1st Cir.1997). The motion will be granted only if it is clear that there is no set of facts or theory, consistent with the allegations, upon which plaintiff can recover. Id.
The complaint alleges the following as facts.
Even before Chapin was employed at UML, female officers at the UML Police Department experienced sex discrimination including, among other things, sexual harassment. Second Amended Complaint ¶ 16 ("Comp."). The chief and other supervisory officers knew, or should have known, about the discrimination and harassment, but failed to take any action to prevent or remedy the misconduct. Comp. ¶ 17 Chapin commenced employment at the UML Police Department on February 14, 1993.2 Comp. ¶ 18. While employed there, she experienced sexual harassment by, among others, Parent and Theokas. The harassment included threats to her physical and mental health; statements to and in the presence of Chapin, disparaging of her and of women in general; sexual gestures; solicitation of complaints about Chapin's performance; and false accusations about her performance. Comp. ¶¶ 19-20. Chapin complained of the harassment, but UML and Rowe did not investigate her claims until after she had left her employment at UML. Comp. ¶ 21, ¶ 24. UML failed to take steps adequate to prevent or remedy the harassment of Chapin. Comp. ¶¶ 22-23. Chapin was constructively discharged from UML on May 26, 1993. Comp. ¶ 19. As a consequence of the harassment and UML's failure to correct it, Chapin has suffered severe and disabling emotional distress such that she has been unable to work. Comp. ¶¶ 26-27. She filed an administrative charge of discrimination with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination ("MCAD") and with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") on August 16, 1993. Comp. ¶ 7. After a finding of probable cause by the MCAD, Chapin requested that the MCAD close her case so that she might commence the present action. On February 9, 1996, the MCAD agreed to terminate, without prejudice, the action then pending before it. At about the same time, the plaintiff received a "right to sue" letter from the EEOC. Comp. ¶¶ 8-12.
Rowe contends that the claim against him under ch. 151B § 4(5), for aiding and abetting discrimination, must be dismissed for three reasons. First, he argues that he was not named in the administrative charge filed with the MCAD (the "MCAD Charge") and that Chapin is therefore barred from bringing a civil suit against him. Next, he argues that Chapin has not alleged sufficient action on his part to constitute "aiding and abetting." Third, he claims that if the court dismisses the § 1983 claim against him, it will lack jurisdiction over him for any statelaw claims.
Rowe argues that he was not sufficiently named in the MCAD Charge to permit Chapin now to maintain this civil suit against him. This court has recently addressed the question of what constitutes sufficient identification of a party in a charge filed with the MCAD to sustain a subsequent civil suit against that party. See Chatman v. Gentle Dental Center of Waltham, et al., 973 F.Supp. 228 (D.Mass.1997). Guided by the Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Brunson v. Wall, 405 Mass. 446, 541 N.E.2d 338 (1989), and by other courts' interpretations of Title VII, this court concluded that "faced with the question, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court would hold that failure to name a party as a respondent in a charge filed with the MCAD does not preclude a later civil action against that party if the conduct of the party was put at issue by the charge and the party had notice of and an opportunity to conciliate the charge." Chatman, 973 F.Supp. at 235. In light of the ruling in Chatman, the question to be answered in the case at bar is whether Rowe's conduct was put at issue by the MCAD Charge and whether Rowe had notice of and an opportunity to conciliate the MCAD Charge.
The MCAD Charge nowhere identifies Rowe by name. Chapin argues, however, that Rowe is adequately identified in the following language from that section of the MCAD Charge in which Chapin was asked to give particulars of her claim of discrimination: "Management or other officials overseeing the Police Department observed or were otherwise aware of Officer Parent harassing Officer [Chapin] and/or other female officers in the Department and did nothing to stop him from doing so."3 MCAD Charge, at 3.
Chapin has the better of the two arguments. The MCAD Charge rather clearly puts Rowe's conduct in issue. He is alleged in the complaint filed with this court to be chief of the UML Police Department. The MCAD Charge, among other things, complains of the failure of "management and other officials overseeing the Police Department" to remedy the harassment. That phrase may comprehend persons in management other than Rowe, but it surely can reasonably be inferred that the phrase includes Rowe in his role as police chief with responsibility for "overseeing the Police Department". See Sobotka v. Westfield Savings Bank, No. Civ.A.99332, 1994 WL 879775 (Mass.Super. April 21, 1994) ().
Furthermore, the MCAD, in its investigation of probable cause with respect to the MCAD Charge, considered the role of management officials in the conduct of which Chapin complained: Probable Cause Finding, Ramp v. University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MCAD No. 93-BEM-1275, at 3 (July 14, 1995) ("Probable Cause Finding")4 see also Lattimore v. Polaroid Corp., 99 F.3d 456, 465 (1st Cir.1996) (). Thus it appears that the MCAD's actual investigation of the MCAD Charge encompassed the conduct of Rowe who, as chief of the UML Police Department, headed the "management" which the MCAD found probable cause to believe had failed to take steps to correct the hostile environment of which Chapin complained.
Whether Rowe received notice or an opportunity to conciliate is a more difficult question. The second amended complaint contains no allegations on this question. It simply notes, in conclusory fashion, that the plaintiff filed an administrative charge, that the MCAD found probable cause, and that before a final decision on the merits was reached, the plaintiff requested that the administrative investigation be closed so that she could pursue the current lawsuit. Comp. ¶¶ 7-12. While the complaint does allege that defendant Rowe had knowledge of the harassment, Comp. ¶¶ 23-25, it contains no allegations that Rowe knew of the MCAD Charge.
The Probable Cause Finding, however, reveals...
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