Redd v. Nolan

• Citation: 94 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44335,33 IER Cases 101,663 F.3d 287
• Decision Date: 29 November 2011
• Docket Number: No. 10–2680.,10–2680.
• Parties: Samone REDD, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Rosemarie NOLAN, et al., Defendants–Appellees.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)

33 IER Cases 101

663 F.3d 287

94 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44,335

Samone REDD, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.Rosemarie NOLAN, et al., Defendants–Appellees.

No. 10–2680.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued Sept. 7, 2011.Decided Nov. 29, 2011.

Edward M. Fox (argued), Julie M. Owen, Attorneys, Fox & Associates, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff–Appellant.

Jamieson B. Bowman (argued), Attorney, Office of the Cook County State's Attorney, Jonathan Mark Powell (argued), Attorney, City of Chicago Law Department, Chicago, IL, for Defendants–Appellees.

Before POSNER, FLAUM, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

HAMILTON, Circuit Judge.

Samone Redd's probationary employment with the Cook County Department of Corrections ended with her resignation on October 31, 2007. Redd had been a witness in a criminal investigation conducted by Detective John Dougherty of the City of Chicago Police Department. She has sued Dougherty, alleging that when she refused to lie to further the ends of that investigation, he tortiously interfered with her County employment. She has also sued the County Sheriff and Sheriff's Department Director of Personnel Rosemarie Nolan (collectively, the “County”), claiming First Amendment retaliation, retaliatory discharge, and a violation of her procedural due process rights.¹ Her claims against Detective Dougherty were dismissed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim in a ruling by Judge Ruben Castillo.² The claims that survived dismissal moved forward before Magistrate Judge Morton Denlow pursuant to the parties' consent. Judge Denlow granted the County's motion for summary judgment on all of Redd's remaining claims. Redd appeals both of these rulings. We affirm.

I. Intentional Interference with a Business Relationship

The district court dismissed the claim against Detective Dougherty for intentional interference with a business relationship. We review the dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) de novo, accepting well-pled facts as true and drawing any reasonable inferences in Redd's favor. See Reynolds v. CB Sports Bar, Inc., 623 F.3d 1143, 1146 (7th Cir.2010). Additional background facts became available when the case progressed to summary judgment, but like the district court, we limit our review to the factual allegations Redd included in her first complaint.³

Redd began training to be a Cook County correctional officer on November 13, 2006, receiving her final evaluation from the Sheriff's Institute for Law Enforcement Education and Training on February 2, 2007. She then began work as a correctional officer for the Cook County Department of Corrections. All correctional officers must satisfy a one-year probationary period; Redd's probation was to end on November 13, 2007.

On May 29, 2007, Redd saw a man and a woman arguing outside of a Chicago residence. About two days later, she was contacted by Detective Dougherty, who asked her to give a statement about what she had seen on May 29th. She told him at that time that she had not witnessed a battery, but she did not sign an official statement. Redd alleges that Detective Dougherty, apparently not satisfied with that statement, repeatedly called her, attempting to intimidate and harass her. On July 5, 2007, Dougherty called Redd at 3:00 a.m., demanding that she immediately give a statement in person. Although Redd refused, Dougherty insisted that she give a statement and cooperate. Hours later Dougherty arrived at Redd's door with a subpoena to appear and testify before a grand jury on July 6 and July 9, 2007.

On July 6th, Redd was on her night-shift lunch break at 1:45 a.m. when she received a call from Detective Dougherty advising her that he and Assistant State's Attorney Weber were coming to the jail to obtain her statement. When they arrived, however, DOC External Operations Officers refused to let them enter the jail to see Redd.

At 9:00 a.m. on July 6th, Redd appeared for the grand jury proceedings pursuant to her subpoena. ASA Weber tried to get Redd to change her statement by intimidation and coercion, she alleges, falsely accusing her of making inconsistent statements. Redd refused to lie and did not testify before the grand jury. This scene was repeated on July 9th, except that Detective Dougherty was also present when ASA Weber attempted to bully Redd into changing her statement.

ASA Weber later filed a complaint against Redd with the County Sheriff's Department accusing her of failing “to cooperate in an ongoing criminal investigation” and of “providing the State's Attorney's Office with false statements.” Redd alleged in conclusory terms that Detective Dougherty conspired with ASA Weber to interfere with her employment relationship. As a result of ASA Weber's accusations, Redd alleges, Sheriff's Department Director of Personnel Rosemarie Nolan “terminated and/or constructively discharged” Redd from her job as a DOC correctional officer on October 31, 2007.⁴

Detective Dougherty moved to dismiss Redd's claim of tortious interference with a business relationship under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. To defeat Detective Dougherty's motion, Redd had to do more than allege the elements of her claim. Her complaint “must actually suggest that [she] has a right to relief, by providing allegations that raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Windy City Metal Fabricators & Supply, Inc. v. CIT Tech. Fin. Servs., 536 F.3d 663, 668 (7th Cir.2008) (emphasis in original), quoting Tamayo v. Blagojevich, 526 F.3d 1074, 1084 (7th Cir.2008). Her complaint was required to provide at least “enough fact to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence” supporting her allegations. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). But this requirement does not mean that the plaintiff was required to show that she would probably prevail. A well-pleaded complaint “may proceed even if it strikes a savvy judge that actual proof of those facts is improbable, and that a recovery is very remote and unlikely.” Id. (internal quotation omitted).

To establish the tort of intentional interference with a business relationship under Illinois law, a plaintiff must show (1) a reasonable expectation of continued employment; (2) knowledge of the business relationship by the defendant; (3) intentional interference; and (4) damages. See Callis, Papa, Jackstadt & Halloran, P.C. v. Norfolk and Western Ry. Co., 195 Ill.2d 356, 254 Ill.Dec. 707, 748 N.E.2d 153, 161 (2001); Labate v. Data Forms, Inc., 288 Ill.App.3d 738, 224 Ill.Dec. 530, 682 N.E.2d 91, 94 (1997). The district court found that Redd's claim against Dougherty failed on the third element because Redd alleged that ASA Weber, and not Detective Dougherty, filed the complaint against her with the Sheriff's Department, and because nothing else in Redd's allegations suggested that Detective Dougherty was involved with or participated in ASA Weber's complaint. We agree with this reasoning.

Redd's allegations certainly suggest that Detective Dougherty did his best to pressure Redd into telling him what he and ASA Weber wanted to hear. But Redd also alleged that ASA Weber, and only ASA Weber, raised a complaint with her employer. Redd has failed to allege a viable claim against Detective Dougherty under the post- Twombly standards of Rule 8. She attempts to draw Detective Dougherty into the mix by claiming that he and ASA Weber “individually and/or in a conspiracy, intentionally interfered with [Redd's employment] by inducing the Cook County Department of Corrections to discharge Plaintiff,” but her attempt falls short. Her assertion of a conspiracy is an unsupported legal conclusion that we are not bound to accept as true. See, e.g., Kolbe & Kolbe Health & Welfare Benefit Plan v. Medical College of Wisconsin, Inc., 657 F.3d 496, 502 (7th Cir.2011). The complaint includes not a whiff of a conspiratorial agreement or any improper complicity between Weber and Dougherty to support the conclusory allegation. Taking Redd's allegations as a whole, we cannot reasonably infer that Detective Dougherty was involved in ASA Weber's complaint or that he otherwise intentionally interfered with Redd's employment. We therefore affirm the district court's dismissal of the claim against Detective Dougherty.

II. Retaliation Claims

The County sought summary judgment on Redd's claims of First Amendment retaliation and state law retaliatory discharge. The Magistrate Judge granted the County's motion on these two claims, and Redd appeals. We review the court's grant of summary judgment de novo, and we view the designated evidence and draw all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light reasonably most favorable to Redd as the non-moving party. See Poer v. Astrue, 606 F.3d 433, 438–39 (7th Cir.2010). Summary judgment is appropriate only when the pleadings, discovery materials, disclosures, and affidavits demonstrate that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving parties are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322–23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

The specifics of ASA Weber's complaint and the County's ensuing investigation were not part of Redd's complaint allegations and thus could not be considered by the court in deciding Dougherty's and the City's motion to dismiss, but these additional facts could and did come into play with the County's summary judgment motion. On May 29, 2007, Redd attended a barbeque at which she witnessed a verbal altercation between her friend Tammie Watkins and Raphael Taylor. Watkins later accused Taylor of striking her in the face with a beer bottle. Chicago Police sought corroboration of Watkins' story from Redd, whom they considered a “circumstantial witness” to the crime.

Chicago Police Detective Brian Johnson investigated the Watkins battery alongside Detective Dougherty. Detective...