Isse v. American University

• Citation: 540 F.Supp.2d 9
• Decision Date: 25 February 2008
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 06-1422 (CKK).
• Parties: Mohammed ISSE, Plaintiff, v. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, et al., Defendants,
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

540 F.Supp.2d 9

Mohammed ISSE, Plaintiff, v. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, et al., Defendants,

Civil Action No. 06-1422 (CKK).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

February 25, 2008.

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Mohammed Isse, Fairfax, VA, pro se.

Hisham R.O. Khalid, Office of the General Counsel, American University, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge.

Pro se Plaintiff, Mohammed Isse, brings this action against his former employer, Defendant American University ("Defendant" or the "University"), pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., alleging that the University unlawfully terminated his employment as a shuttle bus driver because of Plaintiffs Muslim religion and Somalian national origin. Plaintiff's Complaint also includes a retaliation claim, which Plaintiff has now abandoned, and names as an additional defendant Plaintiff's immediate Supervisor at the University, Kevin Wyatt. Defendant has moved for summary judgment, seeking to dismiss this case in its entirety. Upon a searching consideration of the filings currently before the Court, the attached exhibits, the relevant case law, and the entire record herein, the Court concludes that genuine issues of material fact exist as to Plaintiff's unlawful termination claim. The Court shall therefore DENY-IN-PART Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, insofar as it relates to that claim. In so doing, the Court clarifies that Plaintiff's unlawful termination claim represents his sole triable claim; Plaintiff has abandoned his retaliation claim, which the Court shall dismiss, and although Plaintiff alleges that Defendant failed to reasonably accommodate his religious observance, he cannot pursue those allegations as a separate claim. Further, because the Court agrees with Defendant that Plaintiff may not pursue his unlawful termination claim against Mr. Wyatt individually, the Court shall GRANT-IN-PART Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment to the extent it relates to Mr. Wyatt individually.

I: BACKGROUND

The Court begins its discussion of the facts by noting that this Court strictly adheres to the text of Local Civil Rule 56.1 (identical to Local Civil Rule 7(h) (formerly Rule 7.1(h))). The local rules for summary judgment "assist[] the district court to maintain docket control and to decide motions for summary judgment efficiently and effectively." Jackson v. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, 101 F.3d 145, 150 (D.C.Cir.1996). "Requiring strict compliance with the local rule is justified both by the nature of summary judgment and by the rule's purposes. ... The procedure contemplated by the rule thus isolates the facts that the parties assert are material, distinguishes disputed from undisputed facts, and identifies the pertinent parts of the record." Id. (quoting Gardels v. CIA, 637 F.2d 770, 773 (D.C.Cir.1980)). "[A] district court should not be obliged to sift through hundreds of pages of depositions, affidavits, and interrogatories in order to make [its] own analysis and determination of what may, or may not, be a genuine issue of material fact." Id. (quoting Twist v. Meese, 854 F.2d 1421, 1425 (D.C.Cir.1988)).

In the instant action, the Court has already afforded Plaintiff an extra chance to comply with Local Civil Rule 56.1, guided by the "well-established practice of construing a pro se party's pleadings liberally." See United States v. Palmer, 296 F.3d 1135, 1143 (D.C.Cir.2002) (citing Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972) (per curiam)). On August 21, 2007, the Court found that Plaintiff's original "Statement of Material Facts in Dispute" failed to comply with Local Civil Rules 7(h) and 56.1, as well as with this Court's October 11, 2006 and April 27, 2007 Scheduling and Procedures Orders, which specifically advise the parties that "[t]he Court strictly adheres to the dictates of Local Civil Rules 7(h) and 56.1 and may strike pleadings not in conformity with these rules." See Isse v. Am. Univ., Civil Action No. 06-1422, Orders (D.D.C. Oct. 10, 2006 and Apr. 27, 2006) (citing Burke v. Gould, 286 F.3d 513, 519 (D.C.Cir.2002)); Isse, Order (D.D.C. Aug. 21, 2007). Alerting Plaintiff as to the purpose and requirements of the Local Civil Rules, the Court struck Plaintiff's Opposition in its entirety and gave Plaintiff another opportunity to file a compliant Statement of Material Facts in Dispute. See Isse, Order (D.D.C. Aug. 21, 2007).

Plaintiff's revised Opposition is accompanied by a paragraph-by-paragraph Reply to Defendant's Statement of Material Facts as to Which There is No Genuine Dispute ("Plaintiff's Reply Statement"), as well as a separate Statement of Material Facts in Dispute ("Plaintiff's Statement"). Plaintiff's Statement and his Statement partially comply with Local Civil Rules 7(h) and 56.1; Plaintiff supports some, but not all, of his factual assertions with specific citations to the factual record. Nevertheless, in light of the fact that Plaintiff is proceeding pro se and has already been given an opportunity to revise his statement, the Court has not attempted to solicit additional record evidence that Plaintiff has failed to provide. Rather, pursuant to Local Civil Rule 56.1, in resolving the present summary judgment motion, the Court "assumes that facts identified by the moving party in the statement of material facts are admitted, unless such a fact is controverted in the statement of genuine issues filed in opposition to the motion." LCvR 56.1; 7(h). The Court therefore treats as admitted all facts alleged by Defendant that are supported by record evidence and not specifically contradicted by Plaintiff. The Court has also considered the facts adduced by Plaintiff in his Statement, to the extent that they are supported by record evidence, and cites directly to the record, where appropriate, to provide additional information not covered in either of the parties' statements.

A. Plaintiff's Employment by the University

Plaintiff, Mohammed Isse, is a practicing Muslim and a native of Somalia. See Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 4 (Isse Aff. ¶¶ 1, 3). Plaintiff worked as a full-time shuttle bus driver in Defendant American University's Transportation Services Department from approximately 1990 until his termination on September 16, 2005. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 1; Pl.'s Reply Stmt. ¶ 1. Beginning in January 1999, Plaintiff's direct supervisor was Kevin Wyatt, the University's Shuttle Operations Coordinator. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 2; Pl.'s Reply Stmt. ¶ 2; Def.'s Ex. 3 (5/30/07 Wyatt Decl.) ¶ 2. Since August 2004, Mr. Wyatt has reported to Anthony Newman, the University's Director of Risk Management and Transportation Services. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 2; Pl.'s Reply Stmt. ¶ 2; Def.'s Ex. 1 (5/29/07 Newman Decl.) ¶¶ 1-2. Before reporting to Mr. Newman, Mr. Wyatt reported to Thomas Leathers, who was employed in the Transportation Services Department from June 1995 until July 2004. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 2; Pl.'s Reply Stmt. ¶ 2; Def.'s Ex. 3 (5/30/07 Wyatt Decl.) ¶ 2.

The University adheres to a progressive discipline policy, which provides "guidelines" for supervisors to follow in taking disciplinary action. Def.'s Ex. 9 (Disciplinary Policy-Revised May 2005) at 51; Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 8; Pl.'s Reply Stmt. ¶ 8. The disciplinary policy categorizes employee offenses as Level I, Level II, and Level III offenses, with Level III offenses being the most severe and usually warranting immediate dismissal. Def.'s Ex. 9 (Disciplinary Policy) at 51-53; Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 8; Pl.'s Reply Stmt. ¶ 8. Three Level II offenses generally warrant dismissal under the policy. Id. According to Mr. Newman, since becoming Director of Transportation Services, he has generally treated safety violations by shuttle drivers as Level II offenses. Def.'s Ex. 1 (5/29/07 Newman Decl.) ¶ 9.

The record only contains Plaintiff's last two performance evaluations, from 2004 and 2005, both of which were completed by Mr. Wyatt. See Def.'s Exs. 40 and 41 (Isse Perf. Evals). Although Plaintiff's 2005 evaluation notes the disciplinary warnings that Plaintiff received during that year (which are discussed in great detail below), Defendant describes each evaluation as satisfactory, and Plaintiff so described them in his Complaint. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 4; Compl. ¶ 9.¹

B. Plaintiff's Complaints Regarding His Supervisors

Over the course of his employment, Plaintiff filed numerous written complaints with members of the University's Human Resources and Risk Management staffs. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 20; Pl.'s Reply Stmt. ¶ 20. Plaintiff specifically complained about an altercation with another employee, see Def.'s Ex. 27 (9/14/98 Mem. re: Investigation of Complaint-M. Isse); inadequate pay, his evaluations, delayed payment of a bill for a drug test, and Mr. Wyatt's refusal to help Plaintiff clean his bus, see Def.'s Ex. 22 (1/30/02 Letter from M. Isse to B. Harner); perceived favoritism towards other employees, see Def.'s Ex. 23 (3/27/03 Letter from M. Isse to M. Muha); an oral warning Plaintiff received for an unplanned absence, see Def.'s Ex. 28 (4/5/05 Letter from G. Karmiol to M. Isse) and Def.'s Ex. 29 (2/1/05 Letter from Plaintiff's attorney to K. Wyatt); and a written warning Plaintiff received for leaving his bus during a shift, see Def.'s Ex. 28 (4/5/05 Letter from. G. Karmiol to M. Isse) and Def.'s Ex. 30 (2/3/05 Letter from Plaintiff's attorney to K. Wyatt).

In two of those written complaints, Plaintiff made general references to feeling discriminated against on the basis of his religion and national origin. See Def.'s Ex. 22 (1/30/02 Letter from M. Isse to B. Harner) ("I feel that I am being discriminated against perhaps because I am an immigrant. I am also sensitive to the religious factor, as I am a Muslim."); Def.'s Ex. 23 (3/27/03 Letter from M. Isse to M. Muha) ("I reported in January what I felt was discrimination on the basis of national origin and...