Curry v. Pulliam, NA 00-77-C B/H.
| Decision Date | 12 December 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. NA 00-77-C B/H.,NA 00-77-C B/H. |
| Citation | 234 F.Supp.2d 921 |
| Parties | Maurice CURRY, Plaintiff, v. David PULLIAM, Superintendent, et al., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Indiana |
Aubrey Williams, Louisville, KY, for Plaintiff.
William H. Kelley, Kelley Belcher & Brown P C, Bloomington, IN, Sandra W. Lewis, Jeffersonville, IN, for Defendant.
ENTRY ON DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
This is an employment discrimination case which, shorn of its collateral claims and issues, alleges that the plaintiff was terminated from his employment on the basis of his race. The case is before us on defendants' motion for summary judgment, which we GRANT for the following reasons.
Maurice Curry is an African-American who was hired by Greater Clark County School System in September 1984. He served as a custodian at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School for fifteen years until his termination in December 1999. PSOMF ¶ 1.1 On May 17, 1999, Beverley Hennegan, a teacher at Thomas Jefferson and daughter-in-law of school board member Michael Hennegan, filed a written complaint alleging that Mr. Curry sexually harassed her. DSOMF ¶¶ 5, 6; PSOMF, ¶ 2. She complained, more specifically, that Mr. Curry made "inappropriate comments," committed an "inappropriate touching," and created a "hostile environment." DSOMF ¶ 7.
Margaret Shea, Director of Administrative Support for the school district conducted an investigation into Ms. Hennegan's allegations. Ms. Shea and Richard Klemens, Principal of Thomas Jefferson school, issued a report pursuant to their investigation. DSOMF ¶ 9; Def. Req. for Production Ex. 5. The report indicates that Ms. Shea interviewed eleven individuals about Ms. Hennegan's allegations. It concluded that Mr. Curry said to Ms. Hennegan, among other things, that he would like to have his body next to hers, he could only imagine what it would like to be with her, asked her out to lunch, and told her that he would like to rub her leg. Id. He also hugged her and kissed her cheek, notwithstanding her rejection of these overtures. Id.
Principal Klemens notified Mr. Curry in a letter of August 13, 1999 that he was going to recommend Mr. Curry's termination and suspended Mr. Curry pending his recommendation. PSOMF ¶ 4; Pl.Ex. 1. Superintendent Pulliam notified union representative Harold Wolff of the proposed termination and in his letter outlined the reasons for the action. The reasons included events that had occurred as early as February 1993 and culminated in Ms. Hennegan's allegations of sexual harassment. Pl.Ex. 2.
Principal Klemens' recommendation to terminate Mr. Curry was taken to an evidentiary hearing on October 19, 1999, before Robert Fields, President of the Board of School Trustees. Mr. Curry was represented at the hearing by representatives of the union and also testified on his own behalf. DSOMF ¶¶ 13-15. After the hearing, Mr. Fields issued findings of fact and conclusions of law. He found, in sum, that Mr. Curry had engaged in acts of misconduct, including unwelcome and inappropriate comments and touching of a sexual nature as alleged by Ms. Hennegan. DSOMF ¶ 19. Before his termination on December 7, 1999, Mr. Curry made an oral statement in executive session in response to Mr. Fields' findings. DSOMF ¶ 23.
Summary judgment is appropriate if "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A genuine issue of material fact exists if there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict in favor of the non-moving party on the particular issue. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Eiland v. Trinity Hosp., 150 F.3d 747, 750 (7th Cir.1998).
On a motion for summary judgment, the burden rests on the moving party to demonstrate "that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). After the moving party demonstrates the absence of a genuine issue for trial, the responsibility shifts to the nonmovant to "go beyond the pleadings" and point to evidence of a genuine factual dispute precluding summary judgment. Id. at 322-23, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265. "If the non-movant does not come forward with evidence that would reasonably permit the finder of fact to find in her favor on a material question, then the court must enter summary judgment against her." Waldridge v. American Hoechst Corp., 24 F.3d 918, 920 (7th Cir. 1994) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 585-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265; Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202).
Summary judgment is not a substitute for a trial on the merits, nor is it a vehicle for resolving factual disputes. Waldridge, 24 F.3d at 920. Therefore, in considering a motion for summary judgment, we draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-movant. Venters v. City of Delphi, 123 F.3d 956, 962 (7th Cir.1997). If genuine doubts remain, and a reasonable factfinder could find for the party opposing the motion, summary judgment is inappropriate. See Shields Enters., Inc. v. First Chicago Corp., 975 F.2d 1290, 1294 (7th Cir.1992); Wolf v. City of Fitchburg, 870 F.2d 1327, 1330 (7th Cir.1989). But if it is clear that a plaintiff will be unable to satisfy the legal requirements necessary to establish her case, summary judgment is not only appropriate, but mandated. See Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265; Waldridge, 24 F.3d at 920.
Mr. Curry alleges several causes of action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in addition to his Title VII claim. Section 1983 was designed to provide legal recourse to individuals who are deprived of a federally-protected right under color of state law. City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd., 526 U.S. 687, 707, 119 S.Ct. 1624, 1637, 143 L.Ed.2d 882 (1999); Conn v. Gabbert, 526 U.S. 286, 289, 119 S.Ct. 1292, 1295, 143 L.Ed.2d 399 (1999). "To state a claim under § 1983, the moving party must demonstrate that the defendant deprived him of a right secured by the Constitution and that in doing so the defendant acted under color of state law." White v. City of Markham, 310 F.3d 989, 997 (7th Cir.2002). Section 1983 provides, in pertinent part:
Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress....
Mr. Curry's section 1983 claims include: (1) actions against several government officials in their official capacities; (2) actions against several government officials in their individual capacities; (3) a conspiracy between or among the named individuals to deprive him of his rights;2 (4) a claim that Mr. Curry was denied due process with respect to his termination; (5) a claim that Greater Clark violated state law and the collective bargaining agreement by using events in Mr. Curry's disciplinary history that were more than two years old; and (6) a claim pursuant to the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment alleging that Mr. Curry was deprived of his position on the basis of his race. We address these claims here, except for the Equal Protection claim, the analysis of which is, for present purposes, identical to the analysis of Mr. Curry's Title VII claim. We defer that analysis to the appropriate section below.
All of Mr. Curry's claims against individuals—whether in their official or individual capacity—are subject to summary adjudication as a matter of law. First, all of the individuals must be dismissed in their "official" capacities because official capacity actions are redundant where, as here, the entity for which the individuals worked is named. In a case such as this one, the conduct of the named employees in their official capacities is the conduct of Greater Clark, and the Eleventh Amendment simply does not allow damages suits against states, state agencies, or state employees acting in their official capacities. Will v. Michigan Department of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 109 S.Ct. 2304, 105 L.Ed.2d 45 (1989); Brokaw v. Mercer County, 235 F.3d 1000, 1009 (7th Cir.2000); Gossmeyer v. McDonald, 128 F.3d 481, 487 (7th Cir.1997). In sum, it is sufficient that Mr. Curry has named the employer; the claims against the individuals named in their official capacities are dismissed.
Second, all of the named individuals must be dismissed in their "individual" capacities as well. As far as Mr. Curry's Title VII claim is concerned, that statute does not permit an action against individuals, even when the individuals are supervisory employees of the employer. Gastineau v. Fleet Mortgage Corp., 137 F.3d 490, 493 (7th Cir.1998); Geier v. Medtronic, Inc., 99 F.3d 238, 244 (7th Cir.1996); Williams v. Banning, 72 F.3d 552, 555 (7th Cir.1995). Once again, it is enough to name the employer itself.
As to Mr. Curry's individual capacity claims under section 1983, while that statute authorizes actions against individuals, it also requires individualized proof that the...
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