Moore v. State of Ala., Civil Action No. 96-D-652-N.

Decision Date25 August 1997
Docket NumberCivil Action No. 96-D-652-N.
Citation989 F.Supp. 1412
PartiesRobert MOORE, et al., Plaintiffs, v. STATE OF ALABAMA, et al., Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama

Charles M. Quinn, Gregory O. Wiggins, Birmingham, AL, for Plaintiffs.

Ellen R. Leonard, Andrew W. Redd, Albert S. Butler, Ala. Dept. of Corrections, Legal Div., R. Frank Ussery, State Personnel

Dept., William F. Gardner, R. Taylor Abbott, Birmingham, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

DE MENT, District Judge.

Pending before the Court are defendants' motions for summary judgment. Defendants Alabama State Personnel Board ("SPB"), Alabama State Personnel Department ("SPD") and Dr. Halcyon Vance Ballard ("Ballard"), Director of the SPD, (collectively "personnel defendants") filed their motion for summary judgment on June 3, 1997. Defendants State of Alabama, State of Alabama Department of Corrections ("ADOC"), Governor Forrest H. "Fob" James ("Governor"), Childersburg Community Work Center ("CCWC") and Ron Jones ("Jones,")1, (collectively the "ADOC defendants") filed their motion for summary judgment on May 29, 1997. On August 1, 1997, plaintiffs filed their response to defendants' motions for summary judgment. After careful consideration of the arguments of counsel, the relevant case law and the record as a whole the Court finds that defendants' motions are due be granted.

JURISDICTION

The Court has subject-matter jurisdiction in this cause pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (federal question jurisdiction) and 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(3). The parties do not contest personal jurisdiction or venue.

BACKGROUND

This case began as three separate actions. On April 17, 1996, the plaintiffs, Robert Moore ("Moore"), John Winston ("Winston") and Willie Kelly ("Kelly"), each filed suit against the above-named defendants. On May 3, 1996, the Court found that the cases involved common questions of law and fact and consolidated the three cases.

All three plaintiffs are black men and former employees of the ADOC. Specifically, all three were employed at CCWC. Winston was Director of CCWC and held the title of Deputy Warden. Moore was a Correctional Officer Supervisor II or Captain. Kelly was a Correctional Officer Supervisor I or Lieutenant.

CCWC is a boot-camp style alternative to traditional penal incarceration. CCWC houses two types of prisoners: first-time offenders known as Disciplinary Recruits or D.R.'s and minimum security regular convicts. D.R.'s participate in a rigorous, highly regimented, short-term program designed to instill discipline and modify the D.R.'s behavior. Shortly after arriving at CCWC, D.R.'s experience something known as "shock day." During "shock day" D.R.'s are required to perform strenuous physical activity and subjected to strident verbal instruction in an effort to break down negative behavior patterns and to begin instilling discipline and respect for authority.

During a "shock day" in May 1993, a D.R. collapsed and subsequently died. In the investigation that ensued, allegations were made that during "shock days," D.R.'s were frequently subjected to verbal and physical abuse. It was further alleged that the plaintiffs had witnessed such abuse but had failed to either report it or take corrective action. The plaintiffs denied ever witnessing such abuse.

As a result of this investigation the plaintiffs were sent notices of dismissal. The notices recited plaintiffs' failure to report the abuse or take corrective action as the reason for dismissal.2 The plaintiffs appealed their dismissals and a hearing was held. The hearing officer recommended that the dismissals be upheld, and upon this recommendation, the SPB upheld the dismissals.

In their complaints, plaintiffs allege that the defendants harassed and threatened them in an effort to coerce them into giving false testimony about the alleged abuse. The plaintiffs contend that because they refused to submit to this harassment, the defendants retaliated by terminating them. Compls. ¶ 13. Plaintiffs, also contend that they were discriminated against on the basis of their race. Compls. ¶¶ 14-15. According to the plaintiffs, similarly situated white employees were not discharged. Compls. ¶ 14. Plaintiffs assert that defendants' actions violated their rights under Title VII, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.3

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

On a motion for summary judgment, the court is to construe the evidence and factual inferences arising therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). Summary judgment can be entered on a claim only if it is shown "that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). As the Supreme Court has explained the summary judgment standard:

[T]he plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. In such a situation, there can be no genuine issue as to any material fact, since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the non-moving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial.

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The trial court's function at this juncture is not "to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (citations omitted). A dispute about a material fact is genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248; see also Barfield v. Brierton, 883 F.2d 923, 933 (11th Cir.1989).

The party seeking summary judgment has the initial burden of informing the court of the basis for the motion and of establishing, based on relevant "portions of `the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions in the file, together with affidavits, if any,'" that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323. Once this initial demonstration under Rule 56(c) is made, the burden of production, not persuasion, shifts to the nonmoving party. The nonmoving party must "go beyond the pleadings and by [his] own affidavits, or by the `depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,' designate `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Id. at 324; see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).

In meeting this burden the nonmoving party "must do more than simply show that there is a metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Corp. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). That party must demonstrate that there is a "genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587. An action is void of a material issue for trial "[w]here the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party." Id.; see also Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249.

DISCUSSION

As a preliminary matter, the Court notes that the plaintiffs and personnel defendants filed a "joint motion to re-classify the personnel defendants as Rule 19 parties" on July 28, 1997. In this motion the parties ask the Court to "dismiss with prejudice the substantive claims and causes of action asserted against the Personnel defendants, subject to the qualification that the Personnel defendants are to remain in the lawsuit as Rule 19 parties only." The Court interprets this motion as an agreement between the parties that the plaintiffs have no viable claims against the personnel defendants. After reviewing plaintiffs' claims, the Court finds that the parties are correct; the plaintiffs do not have any claims against the personnel defendants which would survive summary judgment. Furthermore, the parties have not demonstrated that the personnel defendants are "indispensable parties" within the meaning of Rule 19 nor have they cited any authority in support of their proposal to dismiss all substantive claims against these defendants yet maintain them as parties to this suit. Accordingly, the Court finds that the personnel defendants are due to be dismissed from this action.

Plaintiffs' claims against the remaining defendants turn on a relatively simple and straightforward factual premise: plaintiffs were terminated for failing to report and/or prevent D.R. abuse while other employees at CCWC who saw or participated in the abuse but failed to report and/or prevent the abuse were not terminated. Before the Court can evaluate the sufficiency of this factual premise (and the accompanying evidentiary submissions) the Court must first identify the applicable legal standards.

Title VII

Although they do not specify, presumably, plaintiffs claim that defendants have violated their rights under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a). This section provides in relevant part: "It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to ... discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual ... because of such individual's race." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). An "employer" is defined as "a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce ... and any agent of such person." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b). Nonetheless, it is well-settled in this Circuit that individuals may not be held liable for a violation of Title VII. See Yeldell v. Cooper Green Hosp., Inc., 956 F.2d 1056, 1060 (11th Cir.1992) (holding that Title VII action may not be maintained...

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