Greenberg v. State Univ. Hospital-Downstate Med. Ctr.

• Decision Date: 29 September 2019
• Docket Number: 15-CV-2343 (PKC) (VMS)
• Parties: ODED GREENBERG, M.D., Plaintiff, v. STATE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL-DOWNSTATE MEDICAL CENTER a/k/a THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT BROOKLYN a/k/a SUNY DOWNSTATE MEDICAL CENTER, NEW YORK CITY HEALTH AND HOPSITALS CORPORATION, KINGS COUNTY HOSPITAL CENTER, DEBORAH L. REEDE, STEVEN PULITZER, AND JOHN and JANE DOES 1-20, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

ODED GREENBERG, M.D., Plaintiff, v. STATE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL-DOWNSTATE MEDICAL CENTERa/k/a THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT BROOKLYN

a/k/a SUNY DOWNSTATE MEDICAL CENTER, NEW YORK CITY HEALTH

AND HOPSITALS CORPORATION, KINGS COUNTY HOSPITAL CENTER,

DEBORAH L. REEDE, STEVEN PULITZER, AND JOHN and JANE DOES 1-20, Defendants.

15-CV-2343 (PKC) (VMS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

September 29, 2019

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

PAMELA K. CHEN, United States District Judge:

Plaintiff Oded Greenberg, M.D., brings this action, alleging various types of employment-related discrimination, against Defendants State University Hospital-Downstate Medical a/k/a The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn a/k/a SUNY Downstate Medical Center ("SUNY"); Individual Defendants Deborah L. Reede and Steven Pulitzer ("SUNY-Employees"); New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation ("HHC"); and Kings County Hospital Center ("KCHC"). Plaintiff asserts 28 causes of action, i.e., violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq. ("FMLA"); Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), as codified, 42 U.S.C. Sections 2000e et. seq.; Sections 1981 and 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983 ("§ 1981" and "§ 1983," respectively); the New York State Human Rights Law ("NYSHRL"), N.Y. Exec. Law §§ 290 et seq; and the New York City Human Rights Law ("NYCHRL"), N.Y.C. Admin. Code §§ 8-101 et.seq. (See Second Amended Complaint ("SAC"), Dkt. 23, ¶ 8.) Plaintiff seeks relief in the form of damages, declaratory relief, and permanent injunctive relief. (Id. at 30-31.) Currently before the Court are dispositive motions for summary judgment from SUNY and the SUNY-Employees (collectively "SUNY-Defendants"), and KCHC and HHC. For the following reasons the Court grants Defendants' motions, in full, and dismisses the case.

BACKGROUND

I. Facts¹

A. Parties to this Action

Plaintiff is a white, Jewish man who was 54 or 55 years old at the time he was terminated from his employment with Defendant SUNY. (SUNY-Defendants' 56.1 Statement ("S-Defs.' 56.1"), Dkt. 77, ¶ 1; Plaintiff's 56.1 Statement in Response to SUNY-Defendants' Motion ("Pl.'s 56.1-1"), Dkt. 92, ¶ 1; Plaintiff's Declaration, dated July 6, 2018 ("Pl.'s Decl."), Dkt. 94, ¶ 1.) Plaintiff is a board-certified radiologist authorized to practice in the State of New York (Plaintiff's 56.1 Statement in Response to KCHC & HHC's Motion, Dkt. 91, ¶ 1) who began his employment at SUNY in 2001, and was assigned to the KCHC emergency room, pursuant to an affiliation agreement (Pl.'s Decl., Dkt. 94, ¶ 2). Plaintiff worked as a SUNY employee assigned to KCHCfrom 2001 until his termination in October 2014, with the exception of a brief hiatus to stay at home to assist with the care of his special-needs son. (Pl.'s 56.1-1, Dkt. 92, ¶ 1; Pl.'s Decl., Dkt. 94, ¶ 2.)

Defendant SUNY is a legal entity constituted under N.Y. Educ. Law §§ 351 et seq. SUNY Downstate is a subdivision of SUNY and is not a legally-cognizable entity separate from SUNY. (S-Defs.' 56.1, Dkt. 77, ¶ 4.) SUNY employs a number of radiologists who practice at KCHC, a hospital operated by New York City that is across the street from SUNY Downstate, through an affiliation agreement. (Id. ¶ 1; see generally Affiliation Agreement, Dkt. 81-10.)

Defendant HHC "is a body corporate and politic constituting a public benefit corporation existing and organized under the laws of the State of New York pursuant to Chapter 214-A of the New York Consolidated Laws." (KCHC's & HHC's Answer² to Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint, Dkt. 25, ¶ 3.)

KCHC is a hospital administered by HHC and maintains an affiliation agreement with SUNY-Downstate. (Id. ¶ 4.) Pursuant to that affiliation agreement, Plaintiff was assigned by Defendants to perform his employment duties as a radiologist at KCHC. (Id.)

Defendant Dr. Deborah Reede is an African-American, non-Jewish, female physician, who was 67 years old at the time this lawsuit was filed. (S-Defs.' 56.1, Dkt. 77, ¶ 2; Pl.'s 56.1-1, Dkt. 92, ¶ 2.) In 2013, Dr. Reede was appointed Chair of the Radiology Department at SUNY Downstate. (S-Defs.' 56.1, Dkt. 77, ¶ 2.)

Defendant Dr. Stephen Pulitzer is a white, Jewish, male physician, who was 51 years old at the time this lawsuit was filed. (Id. ¶ 3; Pl.'s 56.1-1, Dkt. 92, ¶ 3; Dr. Pulitzer's March 26, 2018 Declaration ("Pulitzer Decl."), Dkt. 79, ¶ 2.) In July 2014, Dr. Pulitzer was appointed the Interim Chair of the Radiology Department at KCHC, the full Chair of the KCHC Radiology Department in January 2015, and the Chief Medical Officer at KCHC in November 2016. (Pl.'s 56.1-1, Dkt. 92, ¶ 3; Pulitzer Decl., Dkt. 79, ¶ 2.) In those roles, Dr. Pulitzer acted as the site director, with responsibility for the daily operations of KCHC's Radiology Department. (Id. ¶ 3.) During the relevant time period, Dr. Pulitzer was a SUNY employee, working at KCHC through an affiliation agreement. (Pulitzer Decl., Dkt. 79, ¶ 2.)

B. The ACGME Report

SUNY Downstate is a teaching hospital, and in April 2014, the Radiology Department's residency program was put on academic probation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education ("ACGME"), the body responsible for accrediting the majority of graduate medical training programs for physicians in the United States. (Pl.'s 56.1-1, Dkt. 92, ¶ 5; ACGME April 15, 2014 Report, Dkt. 87-1.) The ACGME noted in its findings that "'some faculty' do not 'show up' for their scheduled supervision assignments and the program has not enforced adherence to the schedule." (ACGME Report, Dkt. 87-1, at 2; Pl.'s 56.1-1, Dkt. 92, ¶ 6.) The Department was further criticized for not demonstrating that "an appropriate level of supervision is in place for all residents," and it was found that "faculty do not demonstrate a strong interest in the education of the residents." (ACGME Report, Dkt. 87-1, at 2.) On April 9, 2014, Dr. Reede met with Dr. Ross Clinchy, a physician from the Dean's Office at SUNY and the KCHC Chief Medical Officer at that time, to discuss changes they believed necessary to fix issues in the Radiology Department. (Pl.'s 56.1-1, Dkt. 92, ¶ 8.) Dr. Reede (1) proposed replacing a number of faculty members,primarily based on teaching evaluations, and providing short-term extensions for several others, and (2) emphasized the need for monitoring of faculty member performance, increased work performance for physicians, productivity monitoring, and monitoring of teaching and scholarly activity. (Pl.'s 56.1-1, Dkt. 92, ¶ 9; Deposition of Dr. Deborah Reede ("Reede Dep."), Dkt. 81-19, at 70:12-22; Deposition of Dr. Ghassan Jamaleddine ("Jamaleddine Dep."), Dkt. 87-61, at 101:11-17.) The group also agreed to replace the then-current Chief of Radiology, Dr. Allen Cantor. (Jamaleddine Dep., Dkt. 87-61, at 103:19-104:24.) On June 23, 2014, the Department announced that five SUNY Downstate radiologists would not be renewed. (Dr. Reede's March 26, 2018 Declaration ("Reede Decl."), Dkt. 80, ¶ 9).) Plaintiff's contract was renewed in June 2014. (See id.; Reede Reply Decl., Dkt. 98, ¶ 4.)

Following the non-renewal of the five radiologists,³ on June 23, 2014, Plaintiff e-mailed Dr. Cantor (former Chief of the Radiology Department), that "[t]here is a special place in Hell for the administration and the powers that be for what has happened here. . . . [and] [h]opefully I will remain employed at least long enough to make a certain someones [sic] life miserable." (Dkt. 87-3, at 2.)

C. Defendant Dr. Reede's Alleged Anti-Jewish Bias

In support of his allegations of SUNY Defendants' anti-Jewish bias, Plaintiff submits a declaration sworn to by Esther Neiman, who was the full-time Medical Student Coordinator for the University Physicians of Brooklyn, an affiliate of SUNY Downstate's Radiology Department. (Esther Neiman's June 27, 2018 Declaration ("Neiman Decl."), Dkt. 93, ¶ 2.) Ms. Neiman workedat SUNY Downstate five days per week, from about 10 am. to 6 p.m., from approximately 2002 until December of 2013. (Id.) In her declaration, Ms. Neiman states that her position required daily contact with Dr. Reede in 2013 and that she sat within earshot of Dr. Reede's office. (Id. ¶ 3.) According to Ms. Neiman, after Dr. Reede became the Chief of SUNY Downstate's Radiology Department, she referenced several Orthodox Jewish physicians as "you people" and "those people," was openly upset that Orthodox Jewish physicians would meet for midday prayers, and took as her own office a room that the Orthodox Jewish physicians had used for their midday prayers, and then announced that physicians would not be allowed to meet to pray during the workday on department premises. (Id. ¶¶ 4-6.) Dr. Reede disputes that she made any of these remarks. (See Dr. Reede's September 14, 2018 Declaration ("Reede Reply Decl."), Dkt. 98, ¶ 5.)

D. Plaintiff's Work Performance Issues

On May 5, 2014, following the ACGME Report, Dr. Reede "met with Plaintiff to discuss an incorrect time entry from April 21, 2014" and "reminded Plaintiff that his job responsibilities require him to be present for consultations as well as resident supervision and education[.]" (S-Defs.' 56.1, Dkt. 77, ¶ 14 (quotation marks omitted); see also Reede Dep., Dkt. 87-59, at 142:22-143:9.)⁴ On May 8, 2014, at a SUNY Downstate Radiology Department meeting, Dr. Reede "reminded all of the attending radiologists in the department that 'everyone [must] document[] accurate information on their timesheets.'" (S-Defs.' 56.1, Dkt. 77, ¶ 15.) At a KCHC Radiology Department meeting on June 26, 2014, Dr. Pulitzer noted that time and attendance will be monitored and time sheets must be accurate. (Id.)

SUNY-Defendants contend that beginning in late July or August 2014 Plaintiff's work schedule became unpredictable. (Id. ¶ 16.) Dr. Pulitzer testified that Plaintiff was "coming in late, he was on occasion leaving early. I often...