Munn v. MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF SAVANNAH

• Decision Date: 26 October 1995
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. CV 495-68.
• Citation: 906 F. Supp. 1577
• Parties: Lydia P. MUNN, Plaintiff, v. The MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF the CITY OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Georgia

906 F. Supp. 1577

Lydia P. MUNN, Plaintiff, v. The MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF the CITY OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, Defendant.

Civ. A. No. CV 495-68.

United States District Court, S.D. Georgia, Savannah Division.

October 26, 1995.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Paul W. Painter, Jr., Savannah, GA, Dale E. Akins, Hilton Head, SC, for Plaintiff.

Abda Lee Quillian, Savannah, GA, James Blackburn, Savannah, GA, for Defendant.

ORDER

MOORE, District Judge.

Plaintiff filed suit against Defendant alleging that one of its higher ranking police officers sexually harassed her during her course of employment. Defendant has moved for Summary Judgment as to all counts of Plaintiff's complaint. Pursuant to this Court's Order of September 27, 1995, dismissing Count II of Plaintiff's Complaint, this motion is DISMISSED AS MOOT as to that count. For the reasons stated herein, this Court GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART this motion as to Plaintiff's Title VII cause of action (Count I) and DENIES this motion as to Plaintiff's state law claim for nuisance (Count III).

FACTS

The facts giving rise to this cause of action were sworn to by Plaintiff in her October 10, 1995, Affidavit in Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment and her June 20, 1994, Charge of Discrimination and Affidavit filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (hereinafter "EEOC"). Correspondingly, the April 25, 1994, "confidential memorandum" of the city's Human Resources Department tracks these facts as averred by Plaintiff. The background summary below is drawn largely from these documents.¹

Plaintiff began working with the Savannah Police Department (hereinafter "SPD") on January 4, 1988. Soon after commencing work, Plaintiff was assigned to patrol duty under the supervision of Lt. Dwight Williams, the alleged sexual harasser in this case. In or around May 1988, Lt. Williams began making sexual remarks to Plaintiff. Plaintiff states:

Among the remarks, he talked about how well my uniform fit my body, about how he liked the way I walked, about how sexy I was, about how he wanted to have an affair with me, and about how he wanted me to come to his house to have sex with him. On one occasion, he commented that he wanted me to sit on his face.... Lt. Williams made remarks of this type to me on a regular basis until I was transferred to another section of the SPD ... for reasons unrelated to his conduct. He also told me that my husband was having an extramarital affair and that I should have one with him.

(Pl.'s Aff. in Opp. to Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 3.) During this time, Lt. Williams offered Plaintiff gifts and money in what she believes were attempts to receive sexual favors.

Between April 1991 and June 1993, Plaintiff did not work under the command of Lt. Williams and she had little contact with him. When the SPD promoted her to sergeant in July 1993, it placed her in Precinct One under the immediate supervision of Lt. Williams. Within a month, Lt. Williams resumed making the same type of remarks he had made between 1988 and 1991. Apparently, Lt. Williams would often call Plaintiff on the police radio and instruct her to meet him at various locations and, at times, he would make sexual advances toward Plaintiff after she arrived for the arranged meetings. One February 22, 1994, Lt. Williams contacted Plaintiff on the radio and instructed her to meet him at a location away from the precinct station. Plaintiff alleges: "When I arrived at the location, he told me to get out of my police car. After I got out of the car, he addressed me at length about how much he wanted to have sex with me and an affair with me." (Id. ¶ 5.) On February 24, 1994, Plaintiff reported this conduct to Captain Dwane Ragan and Chief David Gellatly of the SPD.

The matter was referred to the Internal Affairs Department of the SPD and a formal complaint was filed. The situation was eventually brought to the attention of Sheryl Phillips of the city's Human Resources Department who then conducted an inquiry.² During this investigation, it became apparent that Plaintiff's allegations of sexual harassment by Lt. Williams were not the first the Defendant had received. Although no one pursued the allegations to the extent Plaintiff has, Defendant may have had knowledge of Lt. Williams' alleged sexual harassments of Officer Katrina Hughes and Probationary Officers Michelle Mobley and Linda Green as well as inappropriate behavior toward Officer Maria Thompson. (Phillips depo., pp. 77-90.) The Defendant apparently took no disciplinary action regarding these incidents occurring between 1986 and 1993. (Id.) After interviewing Plaintiff, Lt. Williams, and a host of SPD officers and employees³, Phillips stated: "Based on the inquiry, it is the determination of this office that the complaint is sustained." (Pl.'s Ex. B cover page.) Phillips then recommended that "Lt. Williams be removed from any position with any supervisory capacity." (Id. p. 14.) Chief Gellatly did not follow Phillips' recommendation but, instead, suspended Lt. Williams for thirty days without pay and referred him for psychological examination. (Phillips depo., p. 111.)

Though Lt. Williams and Plaintiff are now in different precincts, Plaintiff is under his supervision when both officers have weekend duty. Plaintiff does not contend that Lt. Williams has harassed her since February 24, 1994.

Plaintiff filed her complaint stating theories of recovery under 42 U.S.C. § 1981a and 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5 (Title VII sexual harassment) as well as under the Georgia tort law theories of negligent retention and nuisance. This Court on September 27, 1995, dismissed Plaintiff's negligent retention count. Having read and examined the positions of the parties, this Court now considers Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment.

ANALYSIS

I. When Summary Judgment is Appropriate.

Summary judgment will be rendered when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law." FED.R.CIV.P. 56(c). The "purpose of summary judgment is to pierce the pleadings and to assess the proof in order to see whether there is a genuine need for trial." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (quoting FED.R.CIV.P. 56 advisory committee's note). This Court's analysis ends "where there is no genuine issue of material fact and where the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. v. Miller, 957 F.2d 1575, 1578 (11th Cir.1992) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). Summary judgment is appropriate when the nonmovant "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." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552; Tidmore Oil Co. v. BP Oil Co./Gulf Prods. Div., a Div. of BP Oil Co., 932 F.2d 1384, 1387-88 (11th Cir.1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 925, 112 S.Ct. 339, 116 L.Ed.2d 279 (1991). The substantive law governing the action determines whether an element is essential. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); DeLong Equip. Co. v. Washington Mills Abrasive Co., 887 F.2d 1499, 1505 (11th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 494 U.S. 1081, 110 S.Ct. 1813, 108 L.Ed.2d 943 (1990).

"A party seeking summary judgment always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, if any, which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. at 2553. The burden then shifts to the nonmovant to establish, by going beyond the pleadings, that there is a genuine issue as to facts material to the nonmovant's case. Thompson v. Metropolitan Multi-List, Inc., 934 F.2d 1566, 1583 n. 16 (11th Cir.1991).

A dispute of material fact "is `genuine' ... if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. If the nonmovant's response to the summary judgment motion consists of nothing more than mere conclusory allegations, then this Court has no choice but to enter summary judgment in the moving party's favor. Peppers v. Coates, 887 F.2d 1493, 1498 (11th Cir.1989). "Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, then there is no genuine issue for trial." Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. at 1356; see also Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512; Johns v. Jarrard, 927 F.2d 551, 556 (11th Cir.1991).

In assessing whether the movant is entitled to summary judgment in its favor, the district court must review the evidence and reasonable factual inferences arising from it in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Welch v. Celotex Corp., 951 F.2d 1235, 1237 (11th Cir.1992); Ryder Int'l Corp. v. First Am. Nat'l Bank, 943 F.2d 1521, 1523 (11th Cir.1991). This Court must avoid weighing conflicting evidence during this endeavor. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. at 2513; McKenzie v. Davenport-Harris Funeral Home, 834 F.2d 930, 934 (11th Cir.1987). A mere "scintilla" of evidence supporting the nonmovant's position, however, will not suffice to prevent the granting of summary judgment. See, e.g. Walker v. Darby, 911 F.2d 1573, 1577 (11th Cir.1990). Nevertheless, where a reasonable fact finder may "draw more than one inference from the facts, and that inference creates a genuine issue of material fact, then the court should refuse to grant summary judgment."...