Hindman v. Greenville Hosp. Sys., C/A No. 6:95-2942-21.

• Decision Date: 20 November 1996
• Docket Number: C/A No. 6:95-2942-21.
• Citation: 947 F.Supp. 215
• Parties: Polly HINDMAN, Plaintiff, v. GREENVILLE HOSP. SYS., and Greenville Memorial Hosp., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of South Carolina

947 F.Supp. 215

Polly HINDMAN, Plaintiff, v. GREENVILLE HOSP. SYS., and Greenville Memorial Hosp., Defendants.

C/A No. 6:95-2942-21.

United States District Court, D. South Carolina, Greenville Division.

November 20, 1996.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Kathryne Ann Shelton, Columbia, SC, for plaintiff.

Thomas Allen Bright, Greenville, SC, for defendants.

ORDER

TRAXLER, District Judge.

Plaintiff Polly Hindman ("Hindman") instituted this suit pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), see 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 2000e-2000e-17 (West 1994), the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), see 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 12101-12213 (West 1995), and the common law of South Carolina against Defendants Greenville Hospital Systems and Greenville Memorial Hospital (collectively, "Defendants"). In her first claim, brought under Title VII and the ADA, Hindman posits that the Defendants discharged her in retaliation for filing an administrative complaint with the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission ("SCHAC") and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). In her second claim, brought under the ADA, Hindman contends that the Defendants discriminated against her on the basis of her disability and failed to accommodate her disability. Hindman's final claim is one for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing based on South Carolina law. Asserting that they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law, the Defendants moved for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c). Concluding that the doctrine of judicial estoppel precludes Hindman from establishing a prima facie case respecting her two federal claims and that her state-law claim is not cognizable under South Carolina law, the court grants the Defendants' motion.

I.

The material facts are not disputed. Hindman commenced working for the Defendants in March 1992, and virtually from the inception of her employment, she complained about her work environment. Initially a technician in the Coronary Vascular Intensive Care Unit, Hindman successfully requested a transfer to Patient Accounts, where she commenced working in January 1993. Dissatisfied at Patient Accounts, however, Hindman again successfully requested a transfer to Facilities Development, where she commenced working in May 1993. Facilities Development fared no better than Hindman's prior positions because Hindman again expressed dissatisfaction with her work. Specifically, Hindman posited that she was sexually harassed at Facilities Development; but the complaints she lodged with personnel management centered exclusively on work-related issues, namely that she was not properly trained to operate the computer or filing systems. Yet again accommodating Hindman, the Defendants, at Hindman's request, transferred her to Social Services, where Hindman's recurrent depression precluded her from performing her work; consequently, she took a leave of absence on July 11, 1994, and eventually the Defendants terminated Hindman on August 4, 1994. Thus, in a fifteen-month period, Hindman transferred positions four times.

From 1987-1992, Hindman was treated at the Mountain View Family Practice Clinic for depression that exhibited physical manifestations. According to Hindman, her physical manifestations subsided until she commenced working in Facilities Development, when they recurred. Indeed, as of February 4, 1994, Hindman's depression was so profound that her physician pronounced her incapable of performing her duties. This incapacity prompted the Defendants to grant Hindman medical leave and transfer her to Social Services. Despite this medical leave and fourth transfer, Hindman's depression did not abate.

Subsequent to her transfer to Social Services, Hindman sought treatment at the Bay Laurel Center for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, where she was treated by Dr. Peter Owens ("Owens"), a psychiatrist, and Elaine Smith ("Smith"), a clinical social worker. Owens and Smith concluded that Hindman suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression, opining that she was unable to work as of July 1994. Subsequent to her termination by the Defendants on August 4, 1994, Hindman applied for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration ("SSA"), asserting that she was disabled and unable to perform her job duties. In connection with her application for disability benefits, Hindman proffered the opinions of Owens and Smith, both of whom stated under oath, that Hindman was totally disabled as of July 1994, thereby rendering her unable to work. In addition, Hindman, also under oath, represented to the SSA that she was disabled and hence precluded from performing her duties. Presented with this substantial evidence conclusively demonstrating that Hindman was disabled and unable to work, on April 26, 1996, the SSA awarded her disability benefits retroactive to July 11, 1994. In subsequent applications for continuing disability benefits, again Hindman, and her health care professionals, represented under oath to the SSA that Hindman was disabled and unable to work.

Unhappy with her termination by the Defendants, Hindman filed administrative complaints with the SCHAC and EEOC in December 1994 and amended complaints in May 1995, asserting that the Defendants discriminated against her on the basis of her disability and in retaliation for filing the administrative complaints. These agencies found no basis of discrimination and issued a right-to-sue letter. Consequently, Hindman instituted this suit in state court, but the Defendants removed the case to federal district court on the basis of a federal question. Although asserting six claims in her amended complaint, three claims were dismissed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), leaving for resolution the three claims addressed here. Based on Title VII and the ADA, Hindman's first claim is one of retaliation. According to Hindman, the Defendants discriminated against her on the basis of her disability and terminated her in retaliation for filing the administrative complaints with the SCHAC and EEOC. In her second claim, Hindman alleges that the Defendants violated the ADA by failing to accommodate her disability. This claim is premised on the assertions that the Defendants refused to review available positions with her at the time of her discharge and failed to make other accommodations that would permit her to return to work. Hindman's third claim is one of breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The gravamen of this claim is that Hindman was terminated, despite the fact that the Defendants allegedly informed her that she was a valued employee. The Defendants moved for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) with respect to all claims.

II.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) squarely places on Hindman the burden to proffer competent evidence of each element of her claim following the Defendants' well-supported motion for summary judgment. The language of Rule 56(c) is compulsory, mandating that the district court enter judgment against Hindman if, "after adequate time for discovery ... [she] fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential [to her] case, and on which [she] will bear the burden of proof at trial." See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). To prevail on their motion for summary judgment, Defendants must demonstrate that: (1) there is no genuine issue with respect to any material fact; and (2) they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510-12, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). In determining whether a genuine issue of material fact has been raised, the court must construe all reasonable inferences in favor of Hindman. See id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. at 2513-14. If, however, the evidence is so one-sided as a matter of law that one party must prevail, the court must grant summary judgment in favor of that party. See id. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512. Because the onus is on Hindman to advance competent evidence establishing each element of her claim, she "cannot create a genuine issue of material fact through mere speculation or the building of one inference upon another," see Beale v. Hardy, 769 F.2d 213, 214 (4th Cir.1985). Expounding on this precept, the Anderson Court explained that "[t]he mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of [Hindman's] position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for [her]." See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512. Thus, "[m]ere unsupported speculation ... is not enough to defeat a summary judgment motion." Ennis v. National Ass'n of Business & Educ. Radio, Inc., 53 F.3d 55, 62 (4th Cir.1995). To defeat Defendants' motion for summary judgment, therefore, Hindman must demonstrate that specific, material facts exist that give rise to a genuine issue. See Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553.

Summary judgment is not "a disfavored procedural short shortcut," but an important mechanism for weeding out "claims and defenses [that] have no factual bases," id. at 327, 106 S.Ct. at 2555, and to this end, "[s]ummary judgment serves the useful purpose of disposing of meretricious, pretended claims before the court and parties become `entrenched in a frivolous and costly trial,'" Myrtle Beach Pipeline Corp. v. Emerson Elec. Co., 843 F.Supp. 1027, 1035 (D.S.C. 1993) (quoting Donahue v. Windsor Locks Bd. of Fire Comm'rs, 834 F.2d 54, 58 (2d Cir.1987)), aff'd, 46 F.3d 1125 (4th Cir.1995) (unpublished) (per curiam) (affirming summarily the reasoning of the district court). Principles of summary judgment are well-suited to discrimination claims, particularly if, as here, the plaintiff fails to proffer competent evidence to establish an element of his prima facie case. See,...