Pearson v. Board of Educ.
| Citation | 499 F.Supp.2d 575 |
| Decision Date | 10 August 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 02 Civ. 3629(DC).,02 Civ. 3629(DC). |
| Parties | Ronald PEARSON, John Holder, and Richard Williams, Plaintiffs, v. BOARD OF EDUCATION, City of New York, and Dr. Omar Ayed, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Rudolph Silas, Esq., Brooklyn, NY, for Plaintiffs.
Michael A. Cardozo, Esq., Corporation Counsel for the City of New York by Jennaydra Clunis, Esq., New York City, for Defendants.
In this case, plaintiffs Ronald Pearson, John Holder, and Richard Williams, New York City public school teachers, allege that their employers, the Board of Education (now the Department of Education), the City of New York (collectively the "City Defendants"), and Dr. Omar Ayed (plaintiffs' former supervisor), retaliated against them in violation of their First Amendment rights, violated their due process and equal protection rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, created a hostile work environment and discriminated against them in their employment on the basis of race in violation of federal, state, and local law, and retaliated against them in their employment after plaintiffs complained of their treatment and filed formal grievances with governmental employment agencies. Plaintiffs additionally allege defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery, and wrongful hiring.
Ayed has never appeared in this action. The City Defendants move for summary judgment on the remaining claims. Oral argument was held on June 18, 2007. At argument I dismissed the defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery, and wrongful hiring claims, and dismissed all claims against New York City Schools Chancellor Harold Levy. I reserved decision on the remaining claims. For the reasons that follow, the motion is granted, and plaintiffs' remaining claims against Ayed are dismissed as well.
Construed in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, the nonmoving parties, the facts are as follows.
Pearson, Holder, and Williams were all licensed, tenured senior teachers in the Social Studies department of A. Philip Randolph High School (the "High School"). (McFarlane Dep. 21; Williams Decl. ¶ 2). Pearson began working as a teacher at the High School in 1984, Holder in 1988, and Williams in 1981. (Compl.¶¶ 8, 9, 12). All three are African American. (Williams Decl. ¶ 2).
Defendant Ayed joined the faculty of the High School in 1997 as an assistant principal and supervisor of the Social Studies department. (Compl.¶ 8).
At her deposition, former High School Principal Nathalie McFarlane1 testified that she had never given any of the plaintiffs a negative employment evaluation. (McFarlane Dep. 25).
Pearson attached to his declaration fourteen letters, written between 1988 and 1997, commending him for his teaching or thanking him for his participation in certain extra-curricular activities. (Pearson Decl. Exs. 9-19, 21-23). Pearson also submitted an evaluation completed by McFarlane on February 25, 1999, in which McFarlane concluded that Pearson's teaching was satisfactory. (Id. Ex. 23).
Neither Holder nor Williams submitted any evaluation of work performance. In their opposition to the motion, plaintiffs contend in their memorandum of law that "[u]pon information and belief Ayed and High School Principal Judith Butcher unfairly gave plaintiffs Pearson and Holder unsatisfactory evaluations in their final year at" the High School. (Pl. Mem. of Law in Opp. 8).
In December 1998, Holder and Pearson filed a grievance contending that Ayed was unfairly disallowing them access to a computer in the Social Studies office. (Compl. Ex. 11; see Holder Dep. 40 ()). This grievance was denied, because the computer had been purchased for the exclusive use of Social Studies supervisors, e.g., Ayed. (Id.).
At her deposition, McFarlane stated that all teachers in the Social Studies department had access to the bookroom, regardless of their race, and that all teachers were also allowed to use the Social Studies office. (McFarlane Dep. 100).
Shortly after Ayed started working at the High School, his working relationship with Williams, Pearson, and Holder became strained, as memorialized in the grievances and formal and informal letters attached to the complaint in this case. (Compl.Exs.1-52).
Williams submitted the following objections to school or Department of Education officials: (1) an October 21, 1998 letter to McFarlane, complaining that Ayed had referred to Vicky Meminger, another African American teacher in the Social Studies department, as "uncivilized," a comment Williams felt extended to him as an African American (id. Ex. 7); (2) a June 22, 1999 letter to Margaret Harrington, Chief Executive of School Programs/Support Services, concerning a visit by Complaint Officer Scott Gale, wherein Gale allegedly told Holder, Pearson, Williams, and Meminger that their complaints about Ayed "had to stop" (id. Ex 41); and (3) a written allegation that Ayed had sexually harassed a female teacher at the High School. (Id.).2
Pearson submitted the following documents concerning his experiences at the High School: (1) an October 22, 1998 letter from Ayed concerning threats Pearson made to him (id. Ex. 8); (2) a letter from McFarlane denying Pearson's grievance of Ayed's observation of Pearson's class on November 9, 1998 (id. Ex. 13); (3) a Step II grievance adjudication denying Pearson's objection to the November 1998 observation (id. Ex. 14); (4) a December 1999 letter from Butcher sustaining Pearson's objection to Ayed's request that they meet alone in light of past circumstances (id. Ex. 29); (5) a letter dated June 12, 2000 from Butcher regarding the outcome of the Office of Equal Opportunity ("OEO") investigation of plaintiffs' complaints about Ayed, to which someone — ostensibly Pearson — added handwritten notations disagreeing with some of the substance; and (6) a letter from Butcher dated June 12, 2000, denying Pearson's grievance of the June 12th letter. (Id. Ex. 48).
Letters and other communications to or from Holder include six Step II grievances, all of which were denied either in whole or substantially in part. (Id. Exs. 6, 11, 12, 39, 46, 50). There are also nine letters from Ayed criticizing Holder's performance as a teacher and employee in areas of timeliness, completion of assignments, and lesson-planning. (Id. Exs. 1, 4, 9, 15, 25, 31, 34, 44, 49). None of these letters contain any explicitly racial remarks. (Id.). Holder complained to the principal of the High School about many of these letters, and, with respect to some of them, escalated his objections to grievances and letters to Superintendent Granger B. Ward and Hearing Officer Robert Mastruzzi. (Id. Exs. 3, 9, 16, 19, 23, 27, 33, 34, 44, 49, 51).
Plaintiffs, together with Meminger, also filed several grievances that were ultimately denied, and composed letters to High School and Department officers regarding Ayed's allegedly discriminatory treatment of them. (See id. Exs. 17, 18, 20, 21, 22). As a result of these, on May 11, 1999, plaintiffs and Meminger were informed that their appeal of a Step II grievance regarding alleged disparate treatment by Ayed was being referred to the Office of Special Investigation, and that Ayed would not supervise the plaintiffs or Meminger until resolution of the investigation. (Id. Ex. 24). On June 24, 1999, plaintiffs and Meminger were informed that the investigation was being transferred to OEO. (Id. Ex. 25). On February 15, 2000, Stephen Mitchell, director of OEO, concluded that the discrimination claims made by the plaintiffs and "particularly, Mr. Pearson" were "without merit." (Id. Ex. 38, at 1).
Indeed, OEO determined that "these baseless complaints [by Pearson, Holder, Williams and Meminger] and the disruption surrounding them have created a hostile work and education environment" at the High School. (Id. at 1). The OEO memorandum further states as follows:
On February 10, [2000,] I received a fax from a faculty member who alleged that he was shoved in the back by Mr. Pearson. In the past the same individual claimed he had been subjected to racial taunts and vandalism by Mr. Pearson. We can neither confirm nor deny the veracity of his complaints.
It appears that the complaint process has been used as a tool for harassment and intimidation by misguided faculty members. ...
.... [The complaining] individuals should not harass, intimidate coworkers, students and supervisors due to their perception that the filing of discrimination complaints absolves them of culpability for their actions.
Therefore, I recommend that you issue a letter to all staff members advising them that adherence to rules, regulations, and proper conduct is one of the requirements for their continued employment at your school. Mr. Pearson's conduct and actions are unacceptable and you should remove him from your school because he is the main contributor to the hostile work environment that currently exists.
(Id. at 1-2).
On March 28, 2000, Holder was informed by letter that Ayed's supervision would be re-instituted because the grievance had been resolved. (Id. Ex. 40). On March 30, 2000, Holder wrote to Angelo Reformato, the Arbitration Advocate for the teachers' union, United Federation of Teachers ("UFT"), expressing his belief that the OEO investigation consisted of "tenuous and fabricated `findings'" and that the investigation was "flawed," and advocating arbitration. (Id. Ex. 42).
As memorialized in his October 21, 1998 letter to McFarlane (see supra), on that date Williams heard Ayed repeatedly say to...
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