Harrison v. Harris-Stowe State Univ.

• Decision Date: 04 May 2021
• Docket Number: No. ED 109012,ED 109012
• Citation: 626 S.W.3d 843
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals
• Parties: Lynne HARRISON, Respondent, v. HARRIS-STOWE STATE UNIVERSITY, Appellant, and Emmanuel Lalande and Tammy Bramwell-Kimbrough, Defendants.

626 S.W.3d 843

Lynne HARRISON, Respondent,

v.HARRIS-STOWE STATE UNIVERSITY, Appellant,andEmmanuel Lalande and Tammy Bramwell-Kimbrough, Defendants.

No. ED 109012

Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, DIVISION THREE.

Filed: May 4, 2021

Daniel K. O'Toole, Jeffery T. McPherson (Co-Counsel), Travis R. Kearbey (Co-Counsel), Paul L. Brusati (Co-Counsel), 7700 Forsyth Blvd, Suite 1800, St. Louis, Mo. 63105, for appellant.

Jeremy D. Hollingshead, Nicholas J. Dudley (Co-Counsel), 7777 Bonhomme Ave, Suite 2401, St. Louis, Mo. 63105, Thomas J. Sanfilippo (Co-Counsel), 211 N. Broadway, Suite 2323, St. Louis, Mo. 63102, Edward D. Robertson Jr. (Co-Counsel), 109 B East High Street, Jefferson City, Mo. 65101, Kelly C. Frickleton (Co-Counsel), Edward D. Robertson, III (Co-Counsel), 1150 Overbrook Road, Suite 200, Leawood, KS. 66211, for respondent.

Travis R. Kearbey, 7700 Forsyth Blvd, Suite 1800, St. Louis, Mo. 63105, Susan B. Wilson, 7733 Forsyth Blvd, Suite 300, St. Louis, Mo. 63105, St. Louis, MO. 63132, for defendant.

Angela T. Quigless, P.J.

The defendant, Harris-Stowe State University, appeals the judgment entered by the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis following a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff, Lynne Harrison, under the Missouri Human Rights Act ("MHRA") for retaliatory discharge.

We affirm the trial court's judgment on Harrison's claim for actual damages from the University for retaliation under the MHRA as well as the trial court's award of attorneys’ fees. We reverse the award of litigation expenses, and remand to the trial court to consider which, if any, of the out-of-pocket expenses of Harrison's attorneys can be properly awarded as attorneys’ fees pursuant to our Supreme Court's decision in Wilson v. Kansas City .¹ Finally, we grant Harrison's request for reasonable attorneys’ fees on appeal, and remand to the trial court to determine and enter an appropriate award.

Factual and Procedural Background

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the following evidence was adduced at trial. In the summer of 2015, Harris-Stowe State University sought a new director for its Department of Public Safety to be in charge of campus security and command the University's private security force. Plaintiff Lynne Harrison learned of the position available at the University and applied.

Harrison began her career in law enforcement as a cadet with the University City Police Department. She later graduated from the St. Louis Police Academy where she was the first woman and first person of color elected as a class president. Harrison then joined the St. Louis County Police Department in 1978. Eventually, she left law enforcement, and moved to Virginia, obtaining bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice from Virginia State University.

After obtaining her degrees, Harrison taught at Virginia State University, several community colleges, and as a professor with the FBI Academy. During her teaching career, she undertook specialized training, including training in the preparation of Clery reports. These are federally-mandated public reports detailing crime statistics on college campuses. An institution's failure to properly prepare and file its annual Clery report can result in significant federal fines. Annual Clery reports are due October 1.

Harrison was teaching summer courses in Virginia when she learned of the job opening for the Director of Public Safety at the University. She interviewed for the position in July 2015, undergoing interviews with numerous University officials, including the president, Dr. Dwaun Warmack, Dean Emmanuel Lalande, Assistant Dean Shawn Baker, and Human Resources Director Tammy Bramwell-Kimbrough. When Dr. Warmack met one-on-one with Harrison, he did not discuss her qualification, rather he emphasized the physically strenuous nature of the job and questioned whether Harrison was capable of the job's physical demands. Harrison would eventually be told that Dr. Warmack had not wanted to hire a woman as the Director of Public Safety.

The University offered Harrison the position in late July 2015, and she accepted. Harrison planned to move to St. Louis and officially join the University on October 5, 2015; however, the University's Clery report was due October 1. Even before being placed on the University's payroll, Harrison flew to St. Louis, collected the confidential information required for the Clery report, returned to Virginia, and prepared the Clery report from scratch for timely filing with the federal government.

Harrison officially began her job with the University on October 5. On her first day in the office, the University required Harrison to sign a form acknowledging that she was hired on the basis of a 90-day probationary period. A University employee terminated after completing probation would be entitled to an internal appeal process. After moving across the country, this was the first that Harrison heard of a probationary period for her employment. Harrison was told that if she did not acknowledge the probationary period by signing the required form, she would not be employed by the University. Harrison signed the form.

Harrison immediately encountered difficulties at the University. On October 7, 2015, Harrison sent a complaint to her immediate supervisor, Dean Lalande, regarding Tammy Kimbrough and the Human Resources Department with the subject "Passive Aggressive, obstructionist and unprofessional conduct in the public safety department." In her October 7 memo, Harrison complained to Lalande about problems communicating with the Human Resources Department, namely "misdirected emails, reported not received emails, the pattern of non-responsive emails, confusing emails and unprofessionally drafted emails" that raised concerns for Harrison about potential civil liability for the University. In addition, Harrison expressed concerns about the 90-day probationary period, and "unnecessary passive aggressive tactics" taken by human resources in communicating with Harrison in finalizing her employment paperwork. Harrison was first instructed to contact no one in the Human Resources Department other than Kimbrough. Harrison was then instructed not to contact the Human Resources Department at all, but to go through Lalande instead.

On October 16, Harrison again complained to Lalande about Kimbrough and others in the Human Resources Department. Harrison characterized her memorandum to Lalande as "Notification of Filing of Discriminatory Practices and Creating a Hostile Workplace" on behalf of herself, individually, and the members of the Department of Public Safety, collectively. Harrison complained of an incident where Kimbrough had "created an extreme hostile work environment by forcing herself past the staff members of the Department of [Public] Safety and attempting to knock down the door to the office of the Director of Public Safety because she demanded to be seen immediate[ly]." Harrison's memorandum went on to complain of "systemic discriminatory practices and procedures" implemented by Kimbrough as to Harrison and members of the Department of Public Safety. As to problems affecting members of her department, she cited "reduced/missing or incorrect payroll and the interference of officers in the procedure of the performance of their duties that can result in bodily injury."

Harrison testified that Kimbrough and Lalande were close. Kimbrough told Harrison multiple times that she was a vice-president with the power to fire employees. Lalande instructed Harrison and Kimbrough to meet and try to resolve their differences. The two met in Kimbrough's office along with human resources attorney Rhonda Wesley. Following the meeting, Harrison complained to Lalande on October 20 that Kimbrough engaged in "[h]ostile, physically threatening" behavior and intimidated Harrison with a threat of unwarranted discharge. Harrison, Kimbrough, Lalande, and Dr. Warmack met on October 21 to address the conflict, but the situation remained unresolved.

On November 23, 2015, Harrison complained to Dean Lalande about another confrontation with Kimbrough in which Kimbrough was yelling in the Department of Public Safety office, and yelled directly in Harrison's face. Harrison wrote that "if another aggressive event concerning M[s] Kimbrough takes place in this work environment, a formal incident requesting a threat assessment investigation will be filed. " (Emphasis in original).

On December 9, Harrison wrote Dean Lalande requesting an independent investigation into "the level of violence perpetuated by Tammy Kimbrough." She also complained about Lalande's dismissive attitude concerning her conflict with Kimbrough:

Many attempts have been made to address this issue unsuccessfully only to escalate Ms. Kimbrough's behavior and to add insult to injury the events be identified as a "girl fight." That is demeaning and insulting not only to me as a woman but, to the position I hold as Director of Public Safety. ... [Ms. Kimbrough] and her office has (sic) engaged in systemic discrimination and obstructive actions that has impeded the functioning of my department and my ability to supervise and produce the highest level of performance in my department. ... I have been required to use a separate discriminatory communication process concerning any request/contact from the Human Resource Department in the performance of my job duties that is a violation of law.

In a separate memorandum of the same date, Harrison complained to Lalande regarding the "[p]assive [a]gressive, obstructionist and unprofessional conduct in the public safety department" by Kimbrough and another human resources employee because they told Harrison to go through Lalande in order to interview and hire additional public safety officers. She also emailed Lalande on December 9, pointing out that she had "endured discriminatory practices, verbal abuse/physical aggression and threats of termination just for performing my duties as it...