Saenger v. Montefiore Med. Ctr.

• Decision Date: 31 March 2010
• Docket Number: Case No. 07-CV-488 (KMK).
• Citation: 706 F.Supp.2d 494
• Parties: Paul SAENGER, Plaintiff,v.MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

706 F.Supp.2d 494

Paul SAENGER, Plaintiff,v.MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER, Defendant.

Case No. 07-CV-488 (KMK).

United States District Court S.D. New York.

March 31, 2010.

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William David Frumkin, Esq., Elizabeth E. Hunter, Esq., Sapir & Frumkin LLP, White Plains, NY, for Plaintiff.

Richard Malcom Reice, Esq., Anjanette Cabrera, Esq., Seyfarth Shaw L.L.P., New York, NY, for Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER

KENNETH M. KARAS, District Judge:

This is an employment discrimination case. Dr. Paul Saenger, M.D. was accused by a staff person of physically assaulting her in a doorway, by his secretary of conduct so abusive that she had chest pains that caused her to go to a hospital, by several other women of sexual harassment and other inappropriate conduct, and by his superiors of ignoring patients and disobeying their directives. Dr. Saenger, however, is not the defendant in this action. Instead, he is the plaintiff claiming that his demotion and eventual termination in the wake of these (and other) allegations were the result of age discrimination and unlawful retaliation.

Plaintiff Dr. Paul Saenger, M.D. (“Plaintiff,” or “Dr. Saenger”) brings this suit against his former employer, Defendant Montefiore Medical Center (“Defendant,” or “Montefiore”). He alleges discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq., the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”), New York Exec. Law § 296, and the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”), N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-107, as well as breach of contract. Defendant now moves for summary judgment. For the following reasons, the Court grants Defendant's motion.

I. Background

A. Facts

Dr. Saenger is a recognized specialist in pediatric endocrinology. (Def.'s Mem. of Law in Supp. of its Mot. for Summ. J. (“Def.'s Mem.”) 1.) From January 1979 until May 2004, he was the chair of Montefiore's Pediatric Endocrinology Department. (Def.'s Local Civil R. 56.1 Statement of Undisputed Material Facts (“Def.'s 56.1”) ¶ 1.) During that time, Dr. Saenger conducted research that enriched his field, maintained a clinical practice that cared for many patients, and obtained various lucrative grants for the hospital. (Def.'s Mem. 1; Pl.'s Statement Pursuant to Local R. 56.1 (“Pl.'s 56.1”) ¶ 2.) In recognition of his achievement in the field, Dr. Saenger was chosen to serve as president of the 2009 World Congress of Pediatric Endocrinology. (Dep. of Paul Saenger, M.D., (“Saenger Dep.”) 35.) Yet, on June 7, 2005, Dr. Saenger was fired. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶ 83.)

According to Defendant, the events giving rise to Dr. Saenger's termination began on July 1, 2002, when Dr. Gabriel Haddad was appointed Chair of Montefiore's Pediatric Department. ( Id. ¶ 5.) Montefiore charged Dr. Haddad with reorganizing the Pediatric Endocrinology Department. ( Id. ¶ 6.) At this time, Dr. Haddad was fifty-five years old. ( Id. ¶ 7.) Early in his tenure as department chair, two staff members came to Dr. Haddad's office to inform him that Dr. Saenger had left the hospital to catch a flight, leaving patients waiting, and without rescheduling their appointments or providing coverage for their care. ( Id. ¶ 10; Dep. of Gabriel Haddad, M.D. (“Haddad Dep.”) 37-38.) While Dr. Saenger questions the accuracy and fairness of the report which Dr. Haddad received, he does not dispute that Dr. Haddad received that report, or that it contributed to Dr. Haddad's first impression of Saenger. (Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 10.)

On August 7, 2002, Dr. Saenger had a physical altercation with Susan Wesoly, his Physician Assistant. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 11-13.) According to Wesoly, she went to Dr. Saenger's office to discuss his treatment of her in connection with an assignment. ( Id. ¶ 11; Def.'s Ex. F1.) Dr. Saenger was in a rush to get to the airport, but Ms. Wesoly refused to step aside, and demanded that Dr. Saenger meet with her immediately. Undeterred, Dr. Saenger allegedly grabbed Wesoly's arm and swung the door open, hitting Wesoly's lower back with the door handle. ( Id. ¶ 12; Def.'s Ex. F-1.) At this point, Wesoly became hysterical and Dr. Saenger stormed out of the office. (Def.'s Ex. F-1.) This incident reportedly left a “bad[ ] bruise” on Wesoly's lower back. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶ 13; Def.'s Ex. F-1.) Dr. Saenger denies touching Ms. Wesoly-either with his hand or the door (Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 12; Def.'s Ex. F-1), but he does not deny that Ms. Wesoly made this allegation to Defendant.

Defendant investigated this incident (which investigation included interviews of Wesoly and Dr. Saenger) and concluded that “it seems that there was no deliberate attempt to hit Susan Wesoly with the door.” (Pl.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 14, 17; Def.'s Ex. F-2.) But, the investigation revealed larger problems with Dr. Saenger's behavior. Specifically, the hospital's risk manager noted that “[v]irtually all parties [who were interviewed] described Dr. Saenger's interaction with his staff as degrading and verbally abusive, particularly towards Lorraine Miller, his secretary whom he repeatedly humiliates in front of patients and staff.” (Def.'s Ex. F-1.) “Consistent themes heard during the various interviews” with Dr. Saenger's staff were “dictatorial, bullyish, arrogant, insensitive, belittling, mean, demeaning, [and] temperamental.” (Def.'s Ex. F-2.) After this incident, Defendant ordered Dr. Saenger to undergo a fitness for duty examination and anger management. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶ 19; Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 19.) The examination showed that Saenger was fit for duty and the anger management program was discontinued after a few sessions. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶ 19; Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 19.)

The next complaint about Dr. Saenger came from Loraine Miller, his long-time secretary, in the spring of 2003. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 20-21; Pl.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 20-21.) Ms. Miller complained that Dr. Saenger became verbally explosive towards her and that she was so distraught that she experienced chest pains and needed to check herself into a hospital for several days. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 21-22.) Again, Dr. Saenger disputes the truth of these allegations, but not that they were made to Defendant. (Pl.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 21-22.) Upon Ms. Miller's return to work, Dr. Haddad and Dr. Phillip Ozuah, Vice Chairman for Clinical Affairs, informed Dr. Saenger that, because of his inappropriate treatment of Ms. Miller and the rest of his staff, his office was being moved out of the Pediatric Endocrinology Department. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 23-24.) Dr. Saenger was still chief of the department, but he was not allowed to have any direct contract with Ms. Miller, nor was he permitted to visit the Wayne Avenue office, where the rest of the Pediatric Endocrinology Department was located, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. ( Id.)

Dr. Haddad also wrote Dr. Saenger a letter, dated May 19, 2003, informing him that because of “several complaints by [his] staff,” the hospital was placing him on “strict probation for the next twelve months.” (Def.'s Ex. D-1.) Dr. Haddad warned Dr. Saenger that “[a]ny inappropriate verbal outbursts [or] inappropriate verbal displays of anger and frustration ... will not be tolerated and will lead to prompt disciplinary action, which may include your immediate dismissal.” ( Id.) The letter was clear that this was Dr. Saenger's “final opportunity to remain in Montefiore's employ.” ( Id.)

On June 27, 2003, Dr. Ozuah sent Dr. Saenger another letter because Dr. Saenger had expressed concern that he was receiving “mixed messages” regarding whether he was allowed to contact Ms. Miller and his former office. (Def.'s Ex. H-1; Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 25.) The letter instructed Dr. Saenger to “use only the following telephone number to contact the Endocrine office,” a number Ms. Miller was told not to answer. (Def.'s Ex. H-1 (emphasis in original).) The letter stated that it should be considered a clarification of Dr. Haddad's May 19, 2003 letter. ( Id.) Dr. Saenger replied, asking for “further clarification.” ( Id.) Frustrated, Dr. Ozuah insisted that “ No further clarification is needed! My memo is clear and unambiguous.” ( Id. (emphasis in original).) Despite this exchange, Dr. Ozuah continued to receive complaints that Dr. Saenger violated this instruction. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶ 33.) In fact, members of the Pediatric Endocrinology Department threatened to call the state department of health to file complaints about Dr. Saenger. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶ 34; Dep. of Brian Currie, M.D. (“Currie Dep.”) 115-16.)

In March 2004, Dr. Saenger clashed with his superiors at Montefiore over the Pediatric Department's evaluation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (“ACGME”). The ACGME review occurs every three to five years and is taken very seriously because a poor evaluation could cost Montefiore its accreditation. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 35-36.) At a meeting with all the section chiefs, including Dr. Saenger, Dr. Haddad announced that Dr. Ozuah was in charge of coordinating the review because Dr. Haddad was concerned about how previous reviews were conducted. ( Id. ¶ 37.) Dr. Haddad instructed the division chiefs that all communication with ACGME must go through Dr. Ozuah. (Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 38.)

On March 3, 2004, Dr. Saenger ignored this instruction by contacting ACGME, without Dr. Ozuah's permission, to change the date of the review of the pediatric endocrinology division. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶ 39.) When Dr. Ozuah confronted Dr. Saenger about the matter, Dr. Saenger admitted that he contacted ACGME and stated that he had every intention of contacting them again. ( Id. ¶ 40.) Dr. Saenger did not consider this act of insubordination to be “serious,”-and apparently still does not consider it serious-“because [Dr. Saenger] himself had successfully engaged in the review process for many years.” (Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 40.) A verbal altercation between Drs. Saenger and Ozuah ensued in which Dr. Ozuah asked Dr. Saenger, “why are you fucking with me?” (Def.'s 56.1 ¶ 41.) Both parties reported this...