Chisholm v. District of Columbia
| Citation | 666 F.Supp.2d 96 |
| Decision Date | 29 October 2009 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 06-02174 (RBW). |
| Parties | Rita E. CHISHOLM, Plaintiff, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Defendant.<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL> |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
F. Douglas Hartnett, Elitok & Hartnett, at-Law, LLC, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.
Alex Karpinski, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, for Defendant.
Rita Chisholm, the plaintiff in this civil lawsuit, seeks to recover compensatory damages and also requests injunctive relief for alleged unlawful discrimination against her by her former employer, the District of Columbia Courts,2 under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-31, 633-34 (2000), Second Amended Complaint ("Am. Compl.") ¶ 45, and under both the Americans With Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111-12117 (2006), and the Rehabilitation Act 29 U.S.C. §§ 791, 794(a) (2006), Am. Compl. ¶¶ 47-48. In addition, the plaintiff asserts a wrongful discharge claim against the defendant. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 50-51. Currently before the court is the defendant's motion for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment ("Def.'s Mot."). After carefully considering the parties' pleadings, the defendant's motion and the plaintiff's opposition, and all memoranda of law and exhibits submitted with these filings,3 the Court concludes the defendant is entitled to summary judgment on all of the plaintiff's claims.
The following facts are either admitted or not in dispute.4 The plaintiff worked for the District of Columbia Courts ("Courts") for nearly 19 years commencing in 1985. Def.'s Stmt. ¶¶ 1, 4. At the time of the termination of her employment on August 5, 2005, the plaintiff was approximately 56 years old. Pl.'s Opp'n at 4. Her last position with the Courts was working as a clerk in the Criminal Finance Department. Def.'s Mem. at 4. Some of the plaintiff's job responsibilities required her use of a computer and calculator. Pl.'s Opp'n, Exhibit ("Ex.") 2 (Deposition of Rita Elizabeth Chisholm) ("Chisholm Dep.") at 92. During the summer of 2004, the plaintiff was diagnosed with tendonitis in her right wrist and shortly thereafter she began receiving physical therapy to treat the problem. Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 3 (Medical Documents). Pursuant to a specific recommendation by her physical therapist on October 20, 2004, id., the defendant provided the plaintiff an accommodation for the problem with her wrist in the form of 5 minutes of rest for every 15 minutes of work. Def.'s Mem., Ex. D (Accommodation Letter). Thereafter, on November 9, 2004, the plaintiff allegedly "tripped and tore the ligament in [her] right [ankle]" while at work. Id., Ex. A (Chisholm Dep.) at 68; Pl.'s Opp'n at 6.5
Sometime in early November 2004, the plaintiff met with her supervisor, Cyril Erugo, the Chief of the Court's Finance and Banking Branch, to request advanced medical leave.6 Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 3; Def.'s Mem., Ex. A (Chisholm Dep.) at 129; Pl.'s Opp'n at 6. The plaintiff alleges that Mr. Erugo initially indicated "that her request would be approved once it traveled through the appropriate channels." Pl.'s Opp'n at 6. However, the request for advance leave was ultimately denied once the plaintiff's record was reviewed, id., because according to Mr. Erugo, the plaintiff's record revealed "a pattern of taking leave without advanced request[,]" Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 10 (Deposition of Cyril Erugo) ("Erugo Dep.") at 127, which was considered an abuse of the Court's policy on personal leave, id., Ex. 13 (Letter Denying Reconsideration for Advanced Leave) ("Reconsideration Denial Letter").7 The plaintiff then applied for and was granted worker's compensation payments and she has not returned to work since November 9, 2004. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 7; Def.'s Mem., Ex. A (Chisholm Dep.) at 67-68.
During the several years before the termination of her employment, the plaintiff and a coworker named Jennifer Galloway formed a social relationship. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 8. At the encouragement by the plaintiff, Ms. Galloway also formed a social relationship with the plaintiff's daughter, who suffers from emotional disorders and is learning disabled. Id. ¶ 9. Sometime after the plaintiff began receiving worker's compensation payments and before the termination of her employment, the social relationship between the plaintiff and Ms. Galloway disintegrated due to the escalation of the relationship between Ms. Galloway and the plaintiff's daughter.8
On January 11, 2004, while not reporting to work and receiving worker's compensation payments, the plaintiff sent to Mr. Erugo a grievance letter, which included an appeal for the reconsideration of her request for advanced leave. Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 4 (Grievance Letter); Pl.'s Opp'n at 7-8. The Grievance Letter provided an additional reason for the plaintiff's request for advanced leave: that she was "given a list of specific jobs that would require more usage of [her] hand" after the accommodation was provided by the defendant. Id., Ex. 4 (Grievance Letter). In addition, the Grievance Letter detailed the tumultuous relationship between Ms. Galloway, the plaintiff's daughter, and the plaintiff and provided other allegations regarding the plaintiff's personal relationship with coworkers.9 Id. On approximately February 20, 2005, while still receiving worker's compensation, the plaintiff began workplace counseling through COPE, Inc., the defendant's designated employee assistance program. Pl.'s Opp'n at 9. On March 9, 2005, Mr. Erugo responded to the Grievance Letter maintaining his original recommendation to deny the plaintiff's request for advance leave. Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 13 (Reconsideration Denial Letter). The plaintiff responded to the second denial of advance leave on March 11, 2005, through a letter to Dana Friend, the Deputy Chief Financial Officer of the Courts, requesting a transfer to a new division. Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 5 (Letter Requesting Transfer).
On April 3, 2005, the plaintiff called Ms. Galloway's cellular telephone and threatened to physically harm Ms. Galloway. Def.'s Stmt. ¶¶ 10-21; Def.'s Mem., Ex. E (Affidavit in Support of An Arrest Warrant for Rita Chisholm) ("Arrest Warrant"). On April 4, 2005, Ms. Galloway filed a criminal complaint with the Metropolitan Police because of the threat by the plaintiff and a warrant was issued for the plaintiff's arrest. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 12; Def.'s Mem., Ex. E (Criminal Complaint).10 The plaintiff was arrested on the warrant by the Metropolitan Police Department on April 26, 2005 for "threats to do bodily harm." Def.'s Mem., Ex. F (Arrest/Prosecution Report). Following her arrest, the plaintiff was released and ordered to stay "at least 100 yards" away from Ms. Galloway. Def.'s Mem., Ex. G (Release Order Addendum) ("Restraining Order").
On June 30, 2005, Anthony Rainey, the Chief Financial Officer of the Budget and Finance Division of the Courts, sent a letter to Anne Wicks, the Executive Officer of the Courts, recommending the plaintiff's termination. Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 7 (Letter Recommending Termination). Mr. Rainey made the recommendation "based upon the documentation, memoranda, and witness corroboration [ ] received in connection with the threats that [the plaintiff] reportedly made to [Ms. Galloway.]" Id. On July 5, 2005, the plaintiff signed a First Time Offender Diversion Agreement in which she admitted "criminal responsibility" in the criminal case involving the threat against Ms. Galloway. Def.'s Mem., Ex. H (First Time Offender Diversion Agreement). Pursuant to the defendant's policy of "zero tolerance on violence and threats in the office," and the plaintiff's admission of criminal responsibility for the threat, the recommendation for termination was accepted. Pl.'s Mem., Ex. 9 (Deposition of Dana A. Friend) ("Friend Dep.") at 121-22, 158. The plaintiff was then sent a letter by Ms. Rainey on July 25, 2005, notifying the plaintiff that Ms. Wicks had approved her termination effective on August 5, 2005. Def.'s Mem., Ex. C (Notice of Termination).
In November 2005, Ms. Galloway, who at the time was under 45 years old, was arrested for the possession of narcotics, an event entirely unrelated to this case. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 19; Def.'s Mem., Ex. I (Criminal Records). Upon learning of the arrest and confirming that the charges were not related to a violent crime, Mr. Friend suspended Ms. Galloway. Def.'s Mem., Ex. B (Friend Dep.) at 66-67. The criminal charges against Ms. Galloway were later dropped, Def.'s Mem., Ex. I (Criminal Records), and upon confirmation of the dismissal, Mr. Friend reinstated Ms. Galloway to her position in the finance department, id., Ex. B (Friend Dep.) at 66.
In September of 2006, the plaintiff received a letter from the Employment Opportunity Commission indicating that "they had closed her case and informing her of her right to file [a claim] in federal district court."11 Am. Compl. ¶ 43. The plaintiff filed her complaint in this court on December 21, 2006, naming as defendants the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and Ann B. Wicks in her capacity as the Executive Officer of the District of Columbia Courts. The Court granted Ms. Wick's motion to dismiss and ordered the plaintiff to file an amended complaint naming only the District of Columbia as the defendant. June 4, 2007 Memorandum Opinion, 2007 WL 1601718. The plaintiff complied with that instruction, and on February 12, 2008, she filed her Second Amended Complaint alleging (1) that she was treated in a discriminatory manner "when younger employees in her division ... engaged in activity similar to that which the Courts claimed was the reason for terminating [her]," Am. Compl. ¶¶ 44-45; (2) that "[r]ather than attempting to accommodate [her]," the Courts terminated her "because of her long absence from...
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