Patterson v. County of Oneida, N.Y., Docket No. 03-7535.

• Decision Date: 15 July 2004
• Docket Number: Docket No. 03-7535.
• Parties: Michael Antonio PATTERSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COUNTY OF ONEIDA, NEW YORK; Oneida County Sheriff's Department; Daniel Middaugh, in his individual and official capacity as Sheriff; Peter Paravati, in his individual and official capacity as Undersheriff; William Chapple, in his individual and official capacity as Chief; Deputy William Balsamino in his official and individual capacity, Deputy Richard Phillips in his individual and Official Capacity; Lieutenant Rende, in his individual and Official Capacity; and John Does in their individual and official capacity as Employees and Representatives of the County of Oneida, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

375 F.3d 206

Michael Antonio PATTERSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COUNTY OF ONEIDA, NEW YORK; Oneida County Sheriff's Department; Daniel Middaugh, in his individual and official capacity as Sheriff; Peter Paravati, in his individual and official capacity as Undersheriff; William Chapple, in his individual and official capacity as Chief; Deputy William Balsamino in his official and individual capacity, Deputy Richard Phillips in his individual and Official Capacity; Lieutenant Rende, in his individual and Official Capacity; and John Does in their individual and official capacity as Employees and Representatives of the County of Oneida, Defendants-Appellees.

Docket No. 03-7535.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued: February 18, 2004.

Decided: July 15, 2004.

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A.J. Bosman, Utica, New York, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Bartle J. Gorman, Utica, New York (Gorman, Waszkiewicz, Gorman & Schmitt, Utica, New York, on the brief), for Defendants-Appellees.

Before: KEARSE, CABRANES, and KATZMANN, Circuit Judges.

KEARSE, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff Michael Antonio Patterson, a former employee of defendant Oneida County ("County") Sheriff's Department ("Sheriff's Department" or "Department"), appeals from a judgment and an order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, David N. Hurd, Judge, dismissing, and adhering to the dismissal of, his complaint alleging, inter alia, that defendants violated his rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. ("Title VII"), the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and state law, by subjecting him to a racially hostile work environment and terminating his employment on account of his race. The district court granted summary judgment dismissing Patterson's federal claims, ruling principally (a) that his Title VII claims were time-barred because he had not asserted them in an administrative complaint within 180 days of the occurrence of the alleged unlawful employment practices, and (b) that Patterson had failed to proffer evidence sufficient to permit an inference that he had been subjected to discrimination on the basis of his race. On appeal, Patterson contends that none of his claims are time-barred and that he proffered sufficient evidence to show that there were genuine issues of fact to be tried as to whether he was subjected to a racially hostile work environment and was fired because of his race, and whether there existed a Department custom, policy, or practice of racial discrimination. At the oral argument of this appeal, defendants expressly abandoned all arguments that Patterson's Title VII claims were barred by the 180-day limitations period, but they contend that the decision of the district court was otherwise correct. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment except to the extent that it dismissed Patterson's hostile work environment claims against two of the individual defendants.

I. BACKGROUND

Patterson, an African-American, was hired by the Sheriff's Department as a corrections officer on February 23, 1998; he was to serve a one-year probationary term, during which his performance and conduct were to be evaluated. He was dismissed on February 9, 1999, two weeks before the end of the probationary period. Patterson filed an administrative complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") on December 2, 1999. After receiving a right-to-sue letter, he commenced the present action principally under Title VII and §§ 1981 and 1983, contending, inter alia, that the Department had a custom and practice of terminating the employment of African-Americans before the end of their probationary periods, that he had been fired because of his race, and that during his tenure at the Department he had been subjected to constant racial harassment by other corrections officers. Although claims under other provisions were originally asserted, they have not been pursued on this appeal and need not be described here.

The municipal defendants are the County and the Sheriff's Department. The individual defendants include Daniel Middaugh, County Sheriff; William Chapple, Chief Deputy of the Sheriff's Department; Undersheriff Peter Paravati, who was in charge of Department personnel matters; Joseph Rende, who at pertinent times was a lieutenant in the Department; Richard DePhillips (styled "Richard Phillips" in the caption), who was one of Patterson's supervisors; and William Balsamico (styled "William Balsamino" in the caption), a corrections officer employed at the County jail.

A. Patterson's Claims

In support of his claims in the district court, Patterson described defendants' alleged harassment in various sworn statements, including his verified complaint, his affidavit, and his deposition testimony. His charges included the following.

In July 1998, Patterson was assigned to "B Block" of the Oneida County Correctional Facility (the "Jail"). That Block was commonly referred to by defendants and other Department personnel as "the `Nigger Block.'" (Verified Complaint ¶ 18.) During that assignment, Patterson heard corrections officers yell "nigger" and make other racially disparaging statements; Patterson heard more than one voice making such comments, but he was not able to see or identify the speakers because the comments came from behind locked doors.

Between October 1998 and mid-January 1999, while working in a different building of the Jail, Patterson on a dozen occasions heard racially offensive statements made over an intercom system, originating from a room to which only Department employees had access. Those comments included "Whites before blacks," "nigger in the house," "bald headed black man," and "Whites before blacks, you know the rules." (Verified Complaint ¶ 19.) Patterson was never able to identify the speakers because the door to the room was locked, and although there was a window it was tinted.

Patterson did not report the above comments to any superior officer when they were made. (See Deposition of Michael Antonio Patterson ("Patterson Dep.") at 23.) Nor did he report them to Chapple when Chapple interviewed him after his employment had been terminated. (See id. at 24.)

Patterson also alleged that while on duty on January 1, 1999, at approximately 1 or 2 a.m., he was attempting to go through a certain door but was redirected to a different door, and that upon passing through the door to which he had been rerouted, he was "jumped and assaulted" by Balsamico, DePhillips, and a third deputy he could not identify. (Verified Complaint ¶ 20.) His assailants proceeded to, inter alia, spray him with mace (see id.), temporarily blinding him (see Patterson Dep. at 54), and punched him in the ribs (see id. at 56). They also covered him with shaving cream (see Verified Complaint ¶ 20), making a number of racially offensive comments, including one by Balsamico: "Now you're a white man with an Afro" (Patterson Dep. at 39-40, 55). Patterson attempted to escape from his attackers, but "the master control booth operator had secured the sliding door," and Patterson was eventually "covered with shaving cream over his head, face, hands, feet and uniform." (Verified Complaint ¶ 21.) After this incident, Patterson rinsed his eyes and returned to his duties. (See Patterson Dep. at 56.) Although his eyes burned for "quite a while" thereafter, he did not seek medical treatment. (Id.) He did not report the incident to any superior officer; nor did he report it in his posttermination interview with Chapple. (See id. at 40.)

Patterson testified that, other than the above white-man-with-an-Afro statement, he did not recall any racially offensive statements by Balsamico. He alleged, however, that "[i]t was the long established custom, routine, and practice of the officers of the Oneida County Sheriff's Department to refer to African American inmates as `niggers' `moolies' `jungle bunnies' and `natives' both in the presence and outside the presence of Black officers." (Verified Complaint ¶ 32.) Patterson did not recall any racially offensive statements by Middaugh, Chapple, Paravati, or Rende. (See Patterson Dep. at 36-37, 65-66, 68.) Rende, however, one of Patterson's supervisors who saluted White officers in Patterson's presence, habitually refused to speak to Patterson and refused to return his salutes. (See Verified Complaint ¶ 28.) And DePhillips, Patterson's immediate supervisor, made racially offensive statements to him virtually every day, such as "What's up, my black man?". (Patterson Dep. at 67.)

Patterson also asserted that the Sheriff had an Emergency Rescue Team ("SERT"), a quasi-military all-White group for which Black officers were not eligible. (See Verified Complaint ¶ 30.) SERT had a "custom, routine, and practice" of "us[ing] Nazi-like gestures, tactics, and drills" and engaged in intimidating behavior that was "notoriously racist and representative of racial hatred, producing a racially hostile environment." (Id. ¶ 31.)

Patterson also alleged that he was denied opportunities afforded to other corrections officers to train and receive certification in the use of appropriate weapons. (See Verified Complaint ¶ 33-34, 46.) Although Patterson received positive employee evaluations, including a January 29, 1999 evaluation stating that his performance met all Department requirements and that he had exhibited a positive attitude, he was dismissed on February 9, 1999.

B. Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment

Defendants other than DePhillips, who was never served with process, disputed Patterson's allegations of racial harassment and racial motivation in the termination of his employment and, after a period for discovery, moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. Each individual defendant who had been served submitted...