McDaniel v. Fulton County School Dist.

• Decision Date: 13 September 2002
• Docket Number: No. CIV.A. 1:00-CV-1929-JEC.,CIV.A. 1:00-CV-1929-JEC.
• Citation: 233 F.Supp.2d 1364
• Parties: Laurie A. McDANIEL, Plaintiff, v. FULTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, Fulton County Board of Education, David Richardson, and Johnny M. Moses, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia

233 F.Supp.2d 1364

Laurie A. McDANIEL, Plaintiff, v. FULTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, Fulton County Board of Education, David Richardson, and Johnny M. Moses, Defendants.

No. CIV.A. 1:00-CV-1929-JEC.

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

September 13, 2002.

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Phillip D. Ulan, Office of Phillip D. Ulan, Atlanta, GA, for Plaintiff.

Glen S. Bass, Goldner Sommers, Scrudder & Bass, Judith A. O'Brien, Valerie Strong Sanders, Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan, Atlanta, GA, for Defendants.

ORDER

CARNES, District Judge.

The above-captioned employment discrimination action is before the Court on plaintiff's Objections [58] and defendants' Objections [59] to the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation [52], which recommended granting in part and denying in part the defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment [32]. The Court has reviewed the record and the arguments of the parties and, for the reasons set forth below, concludes that defendants' Objections [59] should be OVERRULED and plaintiff's Objections [58] should be SUSTAINED in part and OVERRULED in part.

Although the Court sustains plaintiff's objection that the Magistrate Judge erred in concluding that the defendants were entitled to summary judgment on plaintiff's Title VII claim alleging that defendants maintained a hostile work environment, the Court adopts the remaining recommendations of the Magistrate Judge that the defendants' motion for summary judgment be denied with respect to plaintiff's claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against defendant Richardson individually, but granted with respect to all other claims. Thus, the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation [52] is ADOPTED IN PART and REJECTED IN PART and defendants' Motion For Summary Judgment [32] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

FACTS

Plaintiff is a former employee of defendant Fulton County School District ("FCSD"). She alleges that, during her employment with the FCSD, defendants Johnny Moses and David Richardson harassed her on the basis of her sex and unlawfully retaliated against her for complaining about that harassment. She has brought this action against the FCSD, the Fulton County Board of Education (collectively the "County Defendants"), and Moses and Richardson individually, asserting claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e, et seq., 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ("Section 1983"), and 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) ("Section 1985"), and also asserting a claim under Georgia common law for negligent retention and supervision.

The action is before the Court on the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation [52], which recommended that the defendants' Motion For Summary Judgment [32] be granted in part and denied in part. Magistrate Judge Walker concluded that the defendants were entitled to summary judgment on all of plaintiff's claims except for her sexual harassment claim against defendant Richardson, individually, brought pursuant to Section 1983. Thereafter, both the plaintiff and defendants filed objections to the Report and Recommendation.

Neither party has objected to Judge Walker's findings of fact, and the Court finds them to be an accurate statement of the facts in the record, as viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.¹ Therefore, the Court adopts the findings of fact as set out in Judge Walker's Report and Recommendation, and assumes them to be true for the purpose of this discussion. As noted by the Magistrate Judge, in reviewing the evidence submitted by the parties, the Court must view all evidence and factual inferences in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, as required on a defendant's motion for summary judgment. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); McCabe v. Sharrett, 12 F.3d 1558, 1560 (11th Cir. 1994); Reynolds v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., 989 F.2d 465, 469 (11th Cir.1993).

Because Judge Walker has set out the facts in detail, the Court will merely summarize them herein, and will add appropriate citations to the record for additional relevant facts. The plaintiff, Laurie McDaniel, was first hired by the FCSD as a teacher assistant and, in November, 1992, she was hired by Steve Monroe, Director of Transportation Operations, as a Clerk II in the FCSD Transportation Department. Plaintiff later became a departmental secretary, and her supervisor was John Moses.² When Moses was out of the office, which was typically only for one half-day each week, David Richardson supervised the employees at the unit, including the plaintiff.

According to the plaintiff, her problems began with Richardson in the summer of 1998, when she separated from her husband. She contends that Richardson began hugging her at work, calling her at home several times a week about personal matters, e-mailing her, and repeatedly asking her out to dinner. Plaintiff also claims that in summer of 1998, Richardson followed her to Indian Springs park, uninvited, where he knew the plaintiff was fishing, and asked her whether he could hold her hand and kiss her and whether she had "a problem with a black/white thing." On one occasion prior to October 1998, Richardson told plaintiff that his wife was out of town, he wanted her to join him for dinner, and that if plaintiff would accompany him to dinner, he would buy her a dress.

At some point in 1998, the plaintiff confided in Brenda Mansell, another employee for whom plaintiff occasionally did secretarial work, about the alleged harassment she was being subjected to by Richardson. Mansell suggested to the plaintiff that she should bring her complaints to Monroe. Plaintiff later complained in October of 1998 about Richardson's harassment to Linda Muth, the routing supervisor, and Muth brought the plaintiff's complaint to the attention of Monroe. Monroe subsequently called the plaintiff at home in October of 1998 to discuss her allegations, and the plaintiff informed Monroe that Richardson was sexually harassing her by calling her at home, e-mailing her, approaching her while she was in her car, leaving messages with her children, and following her to various places outside of work. When Monroe asked plaintiff what she would like him to do about Richardson's behavior, plaintiff told him that she would like the behavior to stop.

Monroe then discussed the plaintiff's complaints with Richardson and Moses. According to Monroe, he explained to Richardson that if any of the plaintiff's accusations had merit, Richardson must stop. According to Richardson, however, Monroe merely advised him not to be involved in activities alone with the plaintiff and to try to be more understanding. Richardson contends that Monroe never informed him that the plaintiff had accused him of sexually harassing her, and instead told him only that the plaintiff felt that Richardson was treating her unfairly and differently than the other secretaries. (Richardson Dep. at 177.) Richardson received no warning or reprimand, nor did he ever receive any discipline of any kind as a result of the plaintiff's complaints about his conduct. (Id. at 234.) In fact, Richardson claims that his behavior toward the plaintiff did not change at all after his conversation with Monroe. (Id. at 187.)

A few weeks after she complained about Richardson, Monroe called the plaintiff at least three times to ask her how things were going, and she did not make any further complaints to Monroe about Richardson or tell him that Richardson was continuing to harass her. (McDaniel Dep. at 139.) Plaintiff contends, however, that soon after she complained about Richardson, he began having many closed door meetings with other employees in which she overheard him making negative comments about her work performance, her children, and her estranged husband. According to plaintiff, Richardson stated that he needed to talk to plaintiff's estranged husband so that he could advise him how to take care of a woman like plaintiff. Plaintiff also contends that, after she complained to Monroe in October of 1998, an incident occurred when in which Richardson yelled at her and threatened her that "payback is hell."

The plaintiff further claims that, approximately three months after she complained to Monroe, Richardson began sexually harassing her again, and his harassing behavior continued throughout 1999. According to the plaintiff, Richardson resumed asking her out for dinner and lunch, and hugged her on two separate occasions. She claims that sometime in April, 1999, Richardson grabbed her around her throat and then complained that his hands smelled of perfume. On one occasion, Richardson also commented that the reason plaintiff was so tired was because she needed a man. Plaintiff further alleges that Richardson would turn the knob on a music box which contained a spinning ballerina in her presence, while making comments such as "watch Laurie spin," and "Boy, I could make love to Laurie if she looked like this." According to plaintiff, Richardson made "constant references" like that. (McDaniel Dep. at 137.)

In April of 1999, Richardson once commented, "Gee, I have all these girlfriends. I have everybody but McDaniel." Plaintiff alleges that Richardson once snapped her bra strap so hard that it stung, and that he also made frequent comments about her clothing, telling her in approximately June of 1999 that her shirt looked "scrunched up" and that her shirt was too tight. (McDaniel Dep. at 137-138.) Richardson also asked the plaintiff and another female co-worker whether they had "dicks" and whether they "peed standing up." (Id. at 138.) In approximately September, 1999, Richardson also referred to the breasts of some of the school girls riding the school buses as "big cahoonas." In October of 1999, while plaintiff was taking off her jacket, Mr. Richardson commented, "Are you gonna strip for us now." Plaint...