Principe v. Vill. of Melrose Park
| Decision Date | 17 February 2022 |
| Docket Number | 20 CV 1545 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
| Parties | James Principe, Plaintiff, v. Village of Melrose Park, Ronald Serpico, and Christine Piemonte, Defendants. |
Plaintiff James Principe worked for the Village of Melrose Park for nearly twenty-three years. He suffered from anxiety and panic disorders. Principe alleges that defendant Ronald Serpico the mayor and Principe's supervisor, referred to Principe using a slur for disability, and regularly swore at him. Principe complained; defendants placed him on administrative leave and fired him. Principe sues the Village for disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act and retaliation under the ADA and Title VII. He brings a claim against all defendants for state-law retaliation and sues Serpico for violation of his constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Defendants move for summary judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. For the reasons discussed below, the motion is granted in part, denied in part.
A party moving for summary judgment must show that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). A genuine dispute as to any material fact exists if “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). I construe all facts and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of Principe, the nonmoving party. See Robertson v. Dep't of Health Servs., 949 F.3d 371, 377-78 (7th Cir. 2020). Defendants bear the burden of establishing that the summary judgment standard is met, but Principe must put forward enough evidence to establish every element of his claims and show that he can carry his burden of proof at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986).
James Principe worked for the Village of Melrose Park, most recently as Director of Management Information Services. [71] ¶ 2.[1] He suffered from agoraphobia, generalized anxiety, and panic disorders. Id. ¶ 13; [79] ¶ 2. Principe had anxiety attacks, difficulty with fine motor skills, and hadn't left the Village in decades. See [71] ¶ 13; [79] ¶ 2; [55] at 17. His disability was well known because Principe posted on a social media account and spoke with others about it. [71] ¶ 13.[2]
The parties dispute whether Principe was doing a good job for the Village. See [79] ¶ 5. Longtime mayor Ronald Serpico, Principe's supervisor, [71] ¶¶ 3, 11; [79] ¶ 3, told Principe a few months before his employment ended to “keep up the good work.” [79] ¶ 5. Serpico also said that he had limited interactions with Principe and wasn't able to tell whether Principe was doing a good job. See [79] ¶ 5. In his more than twenty years at the Village, Principe said that he received only one verbal warning from his supervisors. Id. But Village directors said that Principe was insubordinate and acted inappropriately, see [79] ¶¶ 5, 28, and Christine Piemonte, the HR Director, [71] ¶ 4; [79] ¶ 3, said that she spoke with Principe about problems with his behavior. See [79] ¶ 5; [70] at 135-140. Principe's personnel file included three handwritten notes from Piemonte, two of which were dated 2018 and 2020, noting Principe's unprofessional behavior. See [79] ¶ 28; [70] at 135-140. Piemonte also said the Village didn't conduct performance evaluations, and that department heads monitored employee performance. See [79] ¶ 12.
Principe played video games while in the office and parked his car in a no-parking zone, but the parties disagree about whether he was allowed to do so. [71] ¶¶ 27, 30; [79] ¶¶ 28, 31, 33.[3] Principe smoked in Village buildings in violation of an employee handbook rule, but he identified two other Village employees who also smoked in their offices and weren't disciplined. See [71] ¶ 29; [79] ¶ 35.[4] Principe said that, following instructions from one of his supervisors, he brought his gun onto Village property on three occasions. See [71] ¶ 28; [55] at 223-224.
Piemonte said that Principe harassed and fought with another employee, and that Piemonte had to change the seating arrangement in the office to separate Principe from his colleague. [71] ¶ 31.[5] Village directors said that Principe used foul and inappropriate language, [71] ¶ 32, but other employees testified that swearing was common at work. [79] ¶ 30; see [71] ¶¶ 22, 40.[6]
Several of the parties' disputes center on Principe's relationship with Piemonte. Principe called Piemonte names and joked about her not doing her job, and Piemonte spoke to him to about those issues. [71] ¶ 33; [79] ¶ 5. After Piemonte received a raise, Principe became upset. Id. ¶ 37. He talked about Piemonte's raise with other employees, causing disruption, but Principe said that discussion of salaries was commonplace in the office. See id.
Principe had authority to sign checks on behalf of the Village. [71] ¶ 34. In January 2020, a Village ordinance was circulated that would have made Piemonte an additional signatory should Principe be unavailable. Id. Principe sent e-mails to Village vendors telling them (incorrectly) that Piemonte would now be their point of contact at the Village. Id. ¶ 35. While Principe wasn't forbidden from contacting the vendors, the emails caused problems and Piemonte corrected the error. Id. ¶¶ 35-36.
The Village maintained an employment handbook that all employees were required to follow. See [79] ¶¶ 7-10; [70] at 2. The handbook required employees to treat one another with respect and to avoid interfering with the work of others, verbal confrontations, abusive language, and profanity. [70] ¶ 9. The handbook outlined a progressive discipline model, see Id. ¶ 7, but stated that the Village “reserves the right to make decisions based on an individual case-by-case basis, ” and that the Village could “elect to discipline or terminate an employee without prior warning or procedure.” See 79 ¶ 7; [70] at 18-19.
According to the Village handbook, employees were supposed to complain about harassment or discrimination “directly to your immediate supervisor or department manager” or to the Director of Human Resources, and complaints would be promptly investigated. [79] ¶ 10. Piemonte said that she would handle an informal complaint brought against a director, but that more serious complaints or those brought against the mayor could be referred to an attorney. See Id. ¶¶ 10-11. Complaints against Piemonte would be directed to Serpico. Id. ¶ 11.
Principe said that while the rest of his colleagues didn't treat him differently because of his disability, he had issues with his supervisor, Serpico. See [71] ¶ 16. Serpico regularly talked down to and swore at Principe, which made plaintiff anxious. See [71] ¶¶ 16, 22.[7] Principe said that the mayor often swore at others, Serpico treated him differently because Principe wasn't in the mayor's inner circle, and that Serpico swore at him because Principe was more vulnerable than others. See [79] ¶¶ 16, 22. Principe said Serpico forced him to take certain actions as part of his employment, but not because of Principe's disability. See [71] ¶ 23. Serpico said that he thought Principe was “fragile” and that he tried to make Principe feel good about himself. See id. ¶ 16. The parties dispute whether Principe tried to address his problems with Serpico. See id.
According to Principe, in 2017 Serpico said that he wished everybody had Principe's problems because it would make compliance with Village residency requirements easier. See [71] ¶ 16. A year later, Principe went on medical leave from his position because of something that Serpico said. See [79] ¶ 4.[8] On January 30, 2020, Principe overheard a phone call between Serpico and Serpico's assistant. [71] ¶ 15; [79] ¶ 14. Principe was in a room with the assistant, who answered the call on her cellphone. See [71] ¶ 15; [79] ¶ 14. Principe said that Serpico was screaming and swearing loudly, and that others in the office could also hear the call. See [71] ¶ 15; [79] ¶ 14. Principe heard the mayor say that he had had it with “Jim, ” and asked, “Where the fuck is that retard going to go and get a job making what he's making with the problem that he's got[?]” See [71] ¶ 15; [79] ¶ 14.[9]Principe believed the mayor was referring to him and began to shake, sweat, and throw up. [71] ¶ 15.[10]
After overhearing the phone call, Principe submitted a request for time-off, asking to take the rest of the day. See [79] ¶ 15; [70] at 116. In the comments section on the time-off sheet, Principe wrote “Half day after being called a mother fucker + cunt by Mayor Ronald Serpico.” [70] at 116; see [79] ¶ 15. He later said that he forgot to add that Serpico had called him a “retard” as well. [70] ¶ 15. Principe gave Piemonte (who was meeting with Principe's subordinates) the time-off sheet and told her “you'll be hearing from my attorney.” See [79] ¶ 15; [71] ¶ 38. Principe kissed his subordinates on the cheek and left. [71] ¶ 38. He believed that the time-off request was a complaint of discrimination and hostile work environment. Id.
After Principe gave Piemonte his time-off sheet, Piemonte called Serpico and told him what had happened. [79] ¶ 20. Piemonte called the police to Village Hall out of security concerns, and had police officers deliver Principe's notice of administrative leave. See [79] ¶ 36. Serpico didn't remember speaking with Piemonte, and didn't see Principe's time-off sheet. See [79] ¶ 20; [64-2] at 159-60. Serpico, Piemonte, and another employee who was present when...
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