Meade v. Twp. of Livingston

• Decision Date: 30 December 2021
• Docket Number: 085176,A-52 September Term 2020
• Citation: 265 A.3d 148,249 N.J. 310
• Parties: Michele MEADE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. TOWNSHIP OF LIVINGSTON, Defendant-Respondent.
• Court: New Jersey Supreme Court

249 N.J. 310

265 A.3d 148

Michele MEADE, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.TOWNSHIP OF LIVINGSTON, Defendant-Respondent.

A-52 September Term 2020

085176

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Argued September 27, 2021

Decided December 30, 2021

Christopher P. Lenzo argued the cause for appellant (Lenzo & Reis, attorneys; Christopher P. Lenzo, Morristown, of counsel and on the briefs).

Juan C. Fernandez argued the cause for respondent (Fernandez Garcia, attorneys; Juan C. Fernandez, of counsel and on the briefs, and Michael Garcia, Cedar Grove, on the briefs).

Richard M. Schall argued the cause for amicus curiae National Employment Lawyers Association of New Jersey (Schall & Barasch, attorneys; Richard M. Schall, Moorestown, on the brief).

JUSTICE FERNANDEZ-VINA delivered the opinion of the Court.

In this appeal, the Court considers whether discriminatory conduct toward an employee by that employee's subordinate can result in liability on the part of the employer under New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -50. Specifically, the issue is whether an employee's claim that her subordinate's gender bias influenced her employer's decision to terminate her is sufficient to survive summary judgment and proceed to trial.

Plaintiff Michele Meade served as the Township Manager for Livingston Township for eleven years, from 2005 until her termination in 2016 by Resolution of the Township Council. The Council alleges that it terminated Meade because of her poor job performance. Meade, however, maintains that the Council terminated her to appoint a male replacement due to the gender bias of her male subordinate, Police Chief Craig Handschuch, contrary to the LAD.

The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the Township of Livingston, and the Appellate Division affirmed. For the following reasons, we hold that sufficient evidence was present for a reasonable jury to find that what Councilmembers perceived to be Handschuch's discriminatory attitude toward Meade influenced the Council's decision to terminate her, in violation of the LAD. Accordingly, we reverse the grant of summary judgment and remand this matter for trial.

I.

A.

The summary judgment record reveals that Meade's employment as the Township Manager for Livingston began in July 2005 and ended in November 2016, when she was removed by the Township Council. The Council cited a number of performance areas in the Resolution removing Meade; Meade contests the accuracy or implications of those and other comments in her response to defendant's statement of undisputed material facts. She provides counter examples and further context for support.

A performance area central to this appeal was Meade's supervision of Police Chief Handschuch.

Meade testified in her deposition that she promoted Handschuch to the position of Chief of Police. It is not clear from the record when Meade or the Council first began to note problems with Handschuch's performance, although a 2011 memorandum from Meade to Handschuch notes that the Chief was "seriously behind in completing scheduled work." One particularly notable incident occurred during the school day on April 19, 2013. The incident was the subject of an independent investigation, and the report from that investigation reveals the following facts.

On the morning of April 19, pre-school teachers at the Livingston Community Center observed a man dressed in camouflage, carrying a rifle bag, in the building's parking lot. The teachers alerted their supervisor, who implemented lockdown procedures for the three pre-school classes then underway and called the Livingston Police Department (LPD).

The LPD immediately dispatched three patrol cars to the Community Center; at least two on-duty detectives who heard the call also made their way to the scene. The responding officers "[b]elieved they were responding to a situation potentially like the Newtown (CT) school shooting," and they "proceeded to the Community Center at speeds anywhere from 50 mph to in excess of 90 mph."

About two minutes after dispatch, Handschuch -- "on duty and overhearing the radio traffic" -- "alerted the responding units that the camouflaged man might be involved in training exercises being conducted by the Livingston Emergency Services Unit (ESU) on ... a vacant dwelling ... adjacent to the Community Center."¹ One minute later, after being contacted via cellphone, Sergeant Kenneth Hanna, who oversaw the ESU, informed responding officers that the camouflaged man was Officer Daly, a member of both the ESU and LPD who was participating in the ESU training exercise.

Following the identification of Officer Daly, the dispatched units returned to patrol. Chief Handschuch and Sergeant Hanna visited the pre-school classrooms to apologize for the incident, while the ESU continued their training. The law firm that conducted the independent investigation of the incident later concluded that Handschuch and the ESU were responsible; the investigator opined that the incident resulted from "a repeated failure to communicate the actions of the ESU to individuals and entities who needed the information."

It appears from the record that Meade went to the Community Center during or in the immediate aftermath of the ESU training incident. On May 2, 2013, Hanna signed a complaint-summons alleging that Meade had violated N.J.S.A. 2C:33-28 by using "unreasonably loud and offensive coarse or abusive language" in addressing him in a public place, including by asking him "what kind of f---ing operation are you running here."

On May 31, 2013, Meade emailed the investigation report to Chief Handschuch. Noting that the Township Council had -- "[b]y unanimous consent" -- directed her to take action, Meade in turn directed Handschuch "to take any and all disciplinary action against Sgt. Hanna that you feel is appropriate in light of the report's findings."

That same day, Sergeant Hanna signed a second complaint-summons against Meade, alleging that she had "purposely com[e] into physical contact with officers and civilians in an attempt to obstruct and stop an authorized ESU training exercise in violation N.J.S.[A.] 2C:29-1." That second charge was decided after a two-day trial in April 2014,² along with a charge of simple assault brought against Meade pursuant to a citizen complaint dated April 22, 2013.³ The Municipal Court of West Caldwell acquitted Meade of both charges in a 2014 decision.

Between the filing of Hanna's second complaint and the resolution of the charges against Meade, Meade sent a November 18, 2013 memorandum to Handschuch that began as follows:

Due to the fact that you have failed to attend all of our scheduled monthly meetings in 2013 (there was no meeting scheduled in January and I had to cancel the September meeting) including February 26, March 25, April 23, May 28, June 25, July 23, August 27, and October 22, you leave me with no other option but to again send you a memorandum detailing your delinquent work and unresolved work issues.

The memorandum discussed numerous areas of unsatisfactory performance and requested a full response. An email from Handschuch acknowledged receipt of the memorandum and noted that a response would be forthcoming, but the record suggests that no response was received. The following fall, a number of resident complaints came in about the conduct of a particular LPD officer and, in a memorandum to Handschuch about those complaints, Meade again requested materials that she had asked for in the November 2013 memo but never received.

Although it is not clear from the record what specifically prompted the remark, Councilmember Michael Silverman testified that he said, at a Democratic Executive Committee meeting held at his home in December 2014, that "Michele [Meade] would not be having this problem if her name was Michael." Six people were physically present at the meeting, including Councilmembers Alfred Anthony, Shawn Klein, and Rufino Fernandez, Jr.; Councilmember Edward Meinhardt and another person were on speakerphone.

Meade alleged in her complaint that the conflict between her and Handschuch escalated in 2015, when she expressed concerns about the Police Chief's job performance to the Council. Meade submits that Livingston's labor attorney had counseled her against taking action against Handschuch while the criminal charges related to the ESU training were pending against her out of concern that Handschuch might then file a claim under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA), N.J.S.A. 34:19-1 to -14. Meade adds that, in late 2015, she endeavored to establish grounds for terminating the Chief's employment that would withstand challenge.

The complaint states that on June 30, 2015, Meade met with Councilmember and then-Mayor Silverman, as well as with the Deputy Mayor, the Human Resources Manager, and Livingston's labor counsel "to formulate a plan to address Handschuch's inadequate performance." Meade discussed the Chief's performance with attorney Jennifer Roselle, the "point person" from the law firm the Township of Livingston retained as counsel for labor and employment matters.

According to Roselle's deposition, Roselle found Meade's documentation regarding the Chief's performance likely sufficient to support disciplinary charges, but not termination. Roselle suggested to Meade that she should "try to strengthen a termination case" against the Chief and recommended an independent, outside investigation. Roselle also recommended that Meade ask the Council for its support in terminating the Chief, to have "a unified voice." When asked whether she had discussed with Meade "the effect the existence of [the] criminal case [against Meade] had on [Meade's] ability to manage the department that brought that criminal case," Roselle responded that she did not remember.

By letter dated October 30, 2015, the Township Clerk advised Handschuch "that the Township Council anticipate[d] discussing personnel matters related to [the Chief's] employment at its...