Hoppe v. Lewis Univ.

• Decision Date: 24 September 2012
• Docket Number: No. 11–3358.,11–3358.
• Citation: 692 F.3d 833,26 A.D. Cases 1286,284 Ed. Law Rep. 26
• Parties: Elizabeth HOPPE, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. LEWIS UNIVERSITY, Defendant–Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

692 F.3d 833

284 Ed. Law Rep. 26

26 A.D. Cases 1286

Elizabeth HOPPE, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.LEWIS UNIVERSITY, Defendant–Appellee.

No. 11–3358.

United States Court of Appeals,Seventh Circuit.

Argued May 22, 2012.

Decided Aug. 31, 2012.

Rehearing Denied Sept. 24, 2012.

Yusra S. Gomaa, Rima N. Kapitan (argued), Attorney, Kapitan Law Office, Ltd., Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff–Appellant.

Rachel E. Yarch (argued), Attorney, Kopon Arido LLC, Chicago, IL, for Defendant–Appellee.

Before EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge, and WILLIAMS and TINDER, Circuit Judges.

WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge.

Elizabeth Hoppe is a tenured professor in the Philosophy Department at Lewis University. She lost the privilege of teaching aviation ethics after the new chair of the Aviation Department, William Brogan, deemed her unqualified for the position because she had no formal training in aviation, she had never worked in the industry, and she had not obtained any degrees or certifications relevant to the field. During the two years before her removal from the aviation ethics course, Hoppe filed a series of charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, requesting an accommodation for her clinically diagnosed “adjustment disorder” and accusing the university of discrimination and retaliation.

Hoppe sued Lewis University for discrimination and retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and 42 U.S.C. § 1981. At the close of discovery, the district court awarded summary judgment in favor of the university on all of Hoppe's claims. Hoppe appeals, first arguing that the district court erred by finding that she could not perform her essential job functions and that Lewis University provided her a reasonable accommodation. We agree that there was no evidence of Hoppe's job functions or her inability to perform them, but the undisputed evidence shows that the university offered Hoppe three different accommodations, which she rejected, and no rational trier of fact could find that the university's efforts were unreasonable. Hoppe also argues that the district court overlooked material fact disputes relevant to her retaliation claims. We disagree. Hoppe has no evidence of a causal link between her protected activity and Brogan's decision, so she has failed to make a prima facie showing of retaliation. Summary judgment in the university's favor, therefore, was appropriate and so we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

As this is an appeal from an award of summary judgment, we must construe the facts in the light most favorable to Elizabeth Hoppe, the non-movant below. See Montgomery v. American Airlines, Inc., 626 F.3d 382, 389 (7th Cir.2010). We do so in the narrative that follows.

In 1999, Lewis University hired Elizabeth Hoppe as an assistant professor in the Philosophy Department, situated within the College of Arts and Sciences. About six years later, in 2005, Hoppe received a promotion to associate professor with tenure. Hoppe served as the chair of the Philosophy Department between August 2004 and August 2006.

Hoppe's rise up the ranks resulted in part from her skills as an excellent teacher of philosophy. But she also branched out to teach courses in other faculties, identifying aviation ethics as her sub-specialization. In the fall of 2003, Hoppe began teaching part-time in the Aviation Department while concurrently maintaining a full-time load in the Philosophy Department. At the time, Hoppe had no formal training in aviation, no relevant work experience, and no degrees or certifications associated with the industry. Hoppe taught at least one aviation ethics course each academic year until February 2009, when William Brogan, the newly appointed chair of the Aviation Department, stripped her of those duties. Brogan's decision and the events preceding it are the focal point of this litigation.

Hoppe took a sabbatical in August 2006, based in part on the recommendation of the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Angela Durante. The dean told Hoppe to “step away from the University environment” and requested that she vacate her office because the Education Department, which had loaned out the space, needed it back for accreditation. A few months later, in January 2007, Hoppe filed an associational discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a Hispanic colleague whom she believed had suffered racial discrimination. After returning from sabbatical, Hoppe received an office assignment in the Philosophy Department's academic building. But Hoppe refused to use the assigned space. Instead, she removed her name from the door and modified her course syllabi to alert her students that office hours and appointments would occur elsewhere. Hoppe has not actually used an office at the university since the spring semester of 2007.

On July 27, 2007, Hoppe filed a second charge of discrimination with the EEOC, this time alleging retaliation. Hoppe claimed that she had been “subjected to worsened terms and conditions of employment, including unwarranted disciplinary action, failure to inform her of a security concern when other faculty members were informed, and altered job responsibilities.” As one example, Hoppe cited the fact that the dean no longer recognized her as the “go to” person for participation in university committees and affairs. Before filing her first charge of discrimination, Hoppe had served on at least one faculty search committee every year, but in the succeeding four years, she served on only one such committee. Faculty search committee members were not paid for their service.

Hoppe claimed to have also experienced other retaliation, including: (1) not being selected to participate in the final program review of the Philosophy Department, (2) not receiving a particular research grant for which she had applied, (3) being reported to the dean for missing meetings and required to supply a doctor's note, (4) being out of communication with Dean Durante, and (5) being identified as one of a dozen people who “might have a problem or issue or be angry” and who might be responsible for two harassing letters that the Dean Durante received and reported to police.

In August 2007, Dr. Kathleen Zachary diagnosed Hoppe with “adjustment disorder with anxiety and depressed moods.” Because of her disorder, Hoppe at times avoided the internet and enlisted the assistance of her friends, her therapist, or her attorney to read and summarize electronic messages. Hoppe once went a full month without personally checking her voice mail or opening her postal mail. Hoppe's adjustment disorder was allegedly exacerbated by certain individuals at Lewis University. One such person was Professor George Miller, the chair of the Philosophy Department. Hoppe had an office in the same academic building as Professor Miller—they were the department's only permanent faculty members—but being near or interacting with him allegedly heightened Hoppe's anxiety.

On August 27, 2008, Hoppe's doctor sent a letter to Lewis University requesting that Hoppe's office be relocated to accommodate her disorder. The letter did not identify a campus location that would be suitable for Hoppe, so Lewis sent a letter back asking the doctor to clarify the accommodation request and delineate the factors likely to aggravate Hoppe's condition. Hoppe brought the university's letter to her doctor and, on September 30, 2008, Hoppe's doctor forwarded the university a second accommodation request. The second letter again failed to specify a suitable location or the particular stressors that Hoppe needed to avoid. Nevertheless, the university offered Hoppe three office options, each located in the same building as her temporary assignment. Hoppe rejected all three.

In October 2008, Hoppe chaperoned students from the aviation department on a field trip to Federal Express. Brogan later received complaints about Hoppe's behavior during the trip. Hoppe had experienced vertigo and she took prescription medication to treat her symptoms. During a dinner later that evening, Hoppe drank two glasses of wine, even though her doctor had recommended that she avoid alcohol after taking her medication, and behaved in a manner that struck the FedEx representatives as unprofessional.

About one month later, Brogan met with Hoppe to discuss the complaints he received and to notify her that she would no longer teach aviation ethics. Brogan told Hoppe that she was not qualified to teach the course. He said nothing about the FedEx trip, however. Rather, Brogan maintained that his decision had nothing to do with Hoppe's professionalism and she could continue to accompany the department on trips in the future.

Brogan and Hoppe met a second time on February 26, 2009, shortly after Hoppe's attorney notified Lewis University that it had failed to accommodate Hoppe's disability. During this second meeting, Brogan told Hoppe that she had been permanently barred from teaching courses offered by the Aviation Department. He cited her lack of qualifications and her “behavior” during the FedEx trip as reasons for his decision. About two months later, Hoppe filed a third charge of discrimination with the EEOC, alleging disability discrimination and retaliation.

On January 19, 2010, Lewis University received a third letter from Hoppe's doctor requesting an accommodation. The letter asked that Hoppe be moved to a different “location.” Despite the university's express requests, Hoppe's doctor again did not identify a suitable office or who or what was contributing to Hoppe's difficulties. Three days later, Lewis offered Hoppe an office in a different building. Hoppe accepted the new office space, but never moved in.

Hoppe sued Lewis University for discrimination, retaliation, and failure to accommodate a disability. She asserted six claims: (1) associational discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.; (2)...