Conroy v. City of Chicago

• Decision Date: 16 March 1989
• Docket Number: No. 86 C 4221.,86 C 4221.
• Citation: 708 F. Supp. 927
• Parties: Margaret L. CONROY, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF CHICAGO, Albert A. Raby, and Judy Stevens, individually and officially, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

708 F. Supp. 927

Margaret L. CONROY, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF CHICAGO, Albert A. Raby, and Judy Stevens, individually and officially, Defendants.

No. 86 C 4221.

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, E.D.

March 16, 1989.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

John L. Gubbins, John L. Gubbins & Assocs., Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff.

Judson H. Miner, Corp. Counsel, Jonathan Siner, Arthur N. Christie, Chicago, Ill., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ROVNER, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This is an action brought by Margaret Conroy against the City of Chicago ("the City") and two employees of the City challenging the termination of plaintiff's employment with the City. The case is brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985. Discovery has been completed,¹ and pending is defendants' motion for summary judgment.² For the reasons described below, defendants' motion is granted.

II. FACTS³

Plaintiff Margaret Conroy, who is white, was employed by the City beginning in 1969 in the Commission on Human Relations ("Commission"). On March 2, 1979, she was given the position of Director of Program Services for the Commission. She held Career Service status.⁴ In January, 1980, she was transferred to the Department of Housing, still holding the title Director of Program Services and maintaining Career Service status.

In 1983, Harold Washington was elected Mayor of the City. On about October 12, 1983, plaintiff received a letter from Brenda Gaines, a Washington supporter who was appointed by Washington to head the Department of Housing, stating that plaintiff's employment was terminated effective October 19, 1983. This termination was rescinded on October 13, 1983. On November 29, 1983, Gaines relieved plaintiff of her duties and instructed her to vacate her office in the Department of Housing. In March, 1984, plaintiff was assigned to the position of Director of Program Services of the Commission. She served in that capacity from the middle of March, 1984, until April 16, 1986, maintaining Career Service status and her previous salary.

In February, 1985, defendant Albert Raby, a Washington supporter, was appointed Director of the Commission. Defendant Judy Stevens, another Washington supporter, became Duty Director of the Commission in January, 1986. On April 16, 1986, at 3:45 p.m., plaintiff was directed to appear at a meeting attended by Raby and Stevens. At that meeting, Raby and Stevens informed plaintiff that she was laid off as of 5:00 p.m. on that day, and Raby handed her a letter to that effect.

After plaintiff was laid off, a new, lower-grade position of Staff Assistant was created. This position was filled by Sandra Brown, a black woman. The parties dispute whether this person was a "replacement" for plaintiff. The parties agree that plaintiff handled fewer public relations than she had at the Department of Housing, and that she supervised no one although she had supervised a staff at the Department. The parties disagree over whether the reports and memoranda prepared by plaintiff were similar in the two offices.

Plaintiff filed this action on June 11, 1986. She essentially claims that she was fired because of her race and her failure to actively support Washington. Her original complaint was brought in two counts against the City, Raby, and Mayor Washington. Count I alleged that she had been deprived of property without due process of law, and Count II alleged that the layoff violated her rights under the First Amendment. On December 29, 1986, the Court dismissed portions of the complaint without prejudice due to plaintiff's failure to allege any personal involvement by the Mayor and her failure to allege that her layoff was caused by a policy, practice or custom by the City. See Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978); Strauss v. City of Chicago, 760 F.2d 765 (7th Cir. 1985).

Plaintiff's amended complaint, filed on February 23, 1987, is brought in five counts against the City, Raby and Stevens. Count I alleges that plaintiff was deprived of property without due process of law. Count II alleges that plaintiff was laid off in violation of the First Amendment. Count III alleges that plaintiff's layoff violated her right to equal protection of the law. Count IV alleges a racially motivated conspiracy in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3). Count V alleges racial discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Defendants contend that plaintiff's layoff was not motivated by political or racial considerations. They argue that plaintiff was laid off for essentially financial reasons; the position she occupied was not needed, so it was eliminated as part of a reorganization of the Commission.

After discussing the principles which guide analysis of summary judgment motions, the Court will address each of plaintiff's five counts, although not in the order presented in her complaint.

III. SUMMARY JUDGMENT PRINCIPLES

Summary judgment is warranted when there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In determining whether plaintiff has met this standard, the Court does not weigh the evidence or make credibility determinations. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. at 2513; Stewart v. RCA Corp., 790 F.2d 624, 629 (7th Cir.1986). Rather, plaintiff's evidence "is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in her favor." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 254, 106 S.Ct. at 2513. However, where plaintiff bears the ultimate burden of proof, a defendant who moves for summary judgment on the basis that there is no genuine issue of material fact need not produce evidence showing the absence of a genuine issue. Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 254. Once defendant points out the absence of a genuine issue, it becomes plaintiff's burden to present sufficient admissible evidence to demonstrate the existence of a jury question. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248-249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986), quoting First National Bank of Arizona v. Cities Service Co., 391 U.S. 253, 288-89, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 1592, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968); Toro Co. v. Krouse, Kern & Co., 827 F.2d 155, 162-63 (7th Cir.1987).

"The mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247-48, 106 S.Ct. at 2510 (emphases in original). Thus plaintiff "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). "Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, there is no `genuine' issue for trial." Id. at 587, 106 S.Ct. at 1356. Plaintiff must produce sufficient evidence to allow a reasonable jury to return a verdict in her favor. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. See also Beard v. Whitley County, REMC, 840 F.2d 405, 409-10 (7th Cir.1988).

IV. TITLE VII (COUNT V)

Plaintiff's claim under Title VII requires her to demonstrate that her race was a motivating factor in defendants' decision to lay her off. The Supreme Court has defined the necessary showing as follows:

First, the plaintiff has the burden of proving by the preponderance of the evidence a prima facie case of discrimination. Second, if the plaintiff succeeds in proving the prima facie case, the burden shifts to the defendant to articulate some legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the employee's rejection. Third, should the defendant carry this burden, the plaintiff must then have an opportunity to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the legitimate reasons offered by the defendant were not its true reasons, but were a pretext for discrimination.

Texas Dept. of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 252-53, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1093, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981), citing McDonnell Douglas Corp v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802-04, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1824-25, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). See also Wahab v. Portal Publications, Ltd., 851 F.2d 1011, 1014 (7th Cir.1988); Andre v. Bendix Corp., 841 F.2d 172, 175 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 109 S.Ct. 144, 102 L.Ed.2d 116 (1988). The Court will address the three steps in this analysis in turn.

A. Prima Facie Case

In McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), the Supreme Court described the elements of a prima facie case alleging disparate treatment in hiring. The Court held that the plaintiff must show:

(i) that he belongs to a racial minority; (ii) that he applied and was qualified for a job for which the employer was seeking applicants; (iii) that, despite his qualifications, he was rejected; and (iv) that, after his rejection, the position remained open and the employer continued to seek applicants from persons of complainant's qualifications.

411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824. The Court recognized that these elements were subject to modification in other contexts. Id. at 802 n. 13, 93 S.Ct. at 1824 n. 13. In the context of alleged discrimination in a discharge, the Seventh Circuit has stated that a plaintiff must show by a preponderance of the evidence that she was fired from a job for which she was qualified, and which she was satisfactorily performing, while others not in the protected class were treated more favorably.⁵ Andre, 841 F.2d at 175, quoting Bellissimo v. Westinghouse Electric Corp., 764 F.2d 175, 179 (3rd Cir.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1035, 106 S.Ct. 1244, 89 L.Ed.2d 353 (1986). See also La Montagne v. American Convenience Products, Inc., 750 F.2d 1405, 1409 (7th Cir.1984).⁶

In this case, the parties have not presented...