Harris v. Fulton-Dekalb Hosp. Authority

• Citation: 255 F.Supp.2d 1347
• Decision Date: 27 March 2002
• Docket Number: No. 1:00-CV-3321-TWT.,1:00-CV-3321-TWT.
• Parties: Joyce Gulledge HARRIS, Plaintiff, v. FULTON-DEKALB HOSPITAL AUTHORITY, et al, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia

255 F.Supp.2d 1347

Joyce Gulledge HARRIS, Plaintiff, v. FULTON-DEKALB HOSPITAL AUTHORITY, et al, Defendants.

No. 1:00-CV-3321-TWT.

United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division.

March 27, 2002.

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Karen Brown Williams, The Williams Firm, Monica Emmons Ewing, Office of Monica Emmons Ewing, James Edgar Holmes, Law Offices of Monica E. Ewing, Atlanta, GA, for Plaintiff.

Charles Spurgeon Johnson, III, Mary Ann B. Oakley, Rachel Colleen Boring, Holland & Knight, Atlanta, GA, for Defendants.

ORDER

THRASH, District Judge.

This is an employment discrimination action in which Plaintiff asserts causes of action for sexual harassment, gender and race discrimination and retaliation pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.; denial of due process pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983; as well as state law claims for negligent retention, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy. It is before the Court on Report and Recommendation [Doc. 41] of the Magistrate Judge recommending granting in part and denying in part the Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 19]. For the reasons set forth below, the Court declines to adopt that portion of the Report and Recommendation recommending denying the Defendants' motion with respect to the Plaintiffs retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims.

I. BACKGROUND

The facts of this case are set out in the Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman. For convenience, these facts are restated here. The parties agree that Plaintiff Joyce Gulledge Harris was first employed at Grady Memorial Hospital in 1994 as Vice President of Human Resources and that she became Senior Vice President of Human Resources a few months later.¹ They also agree that Defendant Edward Renford, the President/Chief Executive Officer of Grady Health System, terminated her on December 9, 1998. They do not agree, however, about much that occurred in between.

The parties' factual statements paint very different pictures of Plaintiffs tenure at Grady. For instance, Plaintiff and a number of witnesses on her behalf assert that she "related well with and supported her employees and was an even-tempered and objective manager" and that "[a]lthough she disagreed with Defendant Renford from time to time on various issues, she did so respectfully and executed directives given." Defendants and their witnesses, on the other hand, contend that Plaintiff had "a difficult time dealing with authority" and that she did not get along well with Defendant Renford and made comments to him such as, "If you know so much, handle it yourself." She allegedly frequently showed a lack of respect for him by stating that she would not follow his directives, raising sensitive topics in public meetings, and by talking about him to other employees in sarcastic tones. Defendants assert that Plaintiff also had trouble relating with in-house and outside attorneys while performing her human resources/personnel duties.

Plaintiff, meanwhile, asserts that it was Defendant Renford who treated her disrespectfully. She claims that he made suggestive and inappropriate sexual comments to her, such as saying that she had "gorgeous brown eyes" and "soft gentle hands" while "roaming his eyes over her body and giving Plaintiff the sense that he was `undressing' her with his eyes." She also says that he made inappropriate comments about himself, such as calling himself "Big Ed," which she took to be a reference to the size of his penis,² and telling Plaintiff that, if he ever got divorced, she would be at his "beck and call." She also asserts that Defendant Renford often "hugged her, stroked her and otherwise touched her suggestively and inappropriately." He also allegedly inquired about her private life, asking about the "type of men" she was dating, how she "treated" these men, and how she believed she could better "please" the men in her life.

In her deposition, Plaintiff testified that Defendant Renford made the suggestive and inappropriate comments about her physical characteristics during the first two or three years of her employment, from 1994 through 1997. (Dep. of Joyce Harris, pp. 170-71). She also testified that the "Big Ed" comment was made around 1996 or 1997 and that the "beck and call" statement was made before that. (Dep. of Joyce Harris, p. 173). She testified that the questions about her private life began shortly after she started working there and that she could not remember when they stopped. (Dep. of Joyce Harris, p. 176). In a document she submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") titled "Response to EEOC Charge," and dated May 21, 1999, Plaintiff asserted that he stopped asking her for hugs "during approximately the last 18 months of [her] employment." (Dep. of Joyce Harris, p. 11).

She asserts that, because she did not react positively to these comments, Defendant Renford denied her a pay increase in 1995; frequently denied her requests to use vacation time, with the latest such denial coming in the summer of 1998; denied a tuition reimbursement in 1997; and conducted a year-long "investigational vendetta" against her department in 1996-97. She also alleges that he was frequently rude, hostile and abusive to her and that he intentionally sought to embarrass her in front of other executives. She finally alleges that he retaliated against her in an unspecified way for publicly "speaking out against policies and procedures contrary to applicable federal or state law, rules and regulations, including inter alia, the letting of a contract to a State Senator in 1995 or 1996 without following proper procedures." (Affidavit of Joyce Harris, U 4).

Another Grady employee, Christine Swainson, filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Authority. The Plaintiff was also named as a defendant in that lawsuit. It is undisputed that Plaintiff was a material witness in the Swainson litigation and that she had been involved in the exchange of memoranda with Ms. Swainson, which led to Ms. Swainson's termination. It is also undisputed that Plaintiff was deposed by Ms. Swainson's counsel. During the deposition, Plaintiff testified that she herself may have been a victim of discrimination, but then refused to answer any further questions from Ms. Swainson's lawyer about it, causing the deposition to be adjourned. She also later refused to answer any questions about her allegation either from Defendants' attorneys or from another team of independent attorneys who were hired by Grady to investigate her claim of discrimination. (Affidavit of Randy Gepp., MI 5-10).

Plaintiff denies that she testified that she may have been a discrimination victim but asserts that she said, "I had thought about some things" when asked if she had ever been the victim of discrimination. She acknowledges, however, that she repeatedly refused to answer the same question about her being discriminated against at Grady. (Affidavit of Joyce Harris, Ml 25-34). Plaintiff refused to answer based on her own personal belief and values system. After the Magistrate Judge ordered her to testify, the deposition was adjourned in order to allow her to retain independent counsel.

In a letter dated November 4, 1998, Defendant Renford told Plaintiff that her "recent actions in the Swainson litigation cause[d him] to question [her] judgment and objectivity." He observed that "revealing for the first time at a deposition in an important case that [she] may [have felt] that [she] was discriminated against or treated unfairly demonstrates a serious lack of judgment." He also questioned the wisdom of her refusal not to discuss her allegations with Grady's attorneys or with the counsel hired to investigate the matter independently. He also stated to her: "You do not appear to be satisfied in your current position and based on your current conduct of refusing to cooperate with The Authority and its attorneys I seriously question your judgment and ability to successfully perform your duties." He concluded by giving her the option of (1) meeting with Grady's attorneys and answering their questions about the Swainson litigation, being suspended for three days if she refused, and then terminated if she refused again; or (2) resigning immediately. (Dep. of Joyce Harris, Exhibit 8).

Plaintiff responded in a letter dated November 10, 1998. She accused Defendant Renford of having mistreated her over the years. She complained that he had discriminated against her by not approving the tuition reimbursement for her that he had approved for his secretary. She complained that he had intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon her by denying her vacation requests, publicly ridiculing her and being openly hostile toward her. She also alleged that his decision to cut the human resources management staff by 50% was based on a personal vendetta against her. She also indicated that she had not submitted formal complaints against him (except on one previous occasion) because she did not want to harm Grady or her own career. She also implied that she would have answered questions about her allegations if Defendant Renford personally had asked her about it earlier. (Dep. of Joyce Harris, Exhibit 27).

Defendants assert that Plaintiff was then suspended without pay from November 12 through November 16, 1998, but Plaintiff asserts that she was out on paid sick leave those days (Affidavit of Joyce Harris, 1138). It is agreed, however, that Plaintiff was terminated on December 9, 1998. Defendant Renford presented Plaintiff with another letter, in which he notified her of his decision to terminate her because "it ha[d] become increasingly clear to [him] that [their] working relationship ha[d] deteriorated to a point that it [was] no longer effective or...