Silverman v. City of New York
| Decision Date | 14 August 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 98-CV-6277.,98-CV-6277. |
| Citation | 216 F.Supp.2d 108 |
| Parties | Milton SILVERMAN, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF NEW YORK, Richard T. Roberts, Neil Kaplan, Mario Ferrigno, Deena R. Ghaly, Paul Navarro, Andrew Lawrence, William Abdul Khaaliq, and Phoebe Arnold, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
Richard Cardinale, Cardinale Hueston & Marinelli, Brooklyn, NY, for plaintiffs.
Paul Marks, Assistant Corporation Counsel, New York City, for defendants.
The defendants in this employment discrimination action — the City of New York and various individuals employed in the City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development ("HPD")—move for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff Milton Silverman's ("Silverman's") claims. For the reasons set forth below, the defendants' motion is granted.
This action arises from Silverman's claim that he suffered discrimination on the basis of his religion, race and age while employed as a Real Estate Manager by HPD. Silverman is a white Jewish male who, at the time his claims arose in 1997, was 77 years old. (See Sec. Am.Compl. ¶ 7.) Silverman was hired by HPD in 1973 and worked there until his resignation in 1997.
The factual allegations in the Second Amended Complaint describe Silverman as the innocent victim of a plot concocted by his former supervisors and co-workers at HPD to get him fired by falsely accusing him of sexual harassment. Silverman contends that he was wrongfully accused of sexually harassing Tiffany Springer, a fifteen-year-old black woman who was working at HPD at the time as a summer intern. On July 15, 1997, Silverman was holding some money when Ms. Springer approached and asked him, in what he contends was an overly personal and disrespectful manner: "How can I get some of that money?" (See id. ¶ 35.) Silverman contends that he was taken aback by this comment, as he had previously had no contact with Ms. Springer, and that he responded by saying: "You must think you are cute." (See id. ¶ 36.) Silverman avers that his use of the word "cute" had no sexual connotations, but rather related to the fact that Ms. Springer was being a "wise guy," and that the absence of a sexual implication was objectively obvious to anyone who might have overheard the conversation, including Ms. Springer. (See id.) Silverman further suggests that the absence of a sexual implication was obvious to the defendants because, among other things, they were aware that he had been through a major operation several years earlier that prevented him from having any sexual function. (See id. ¶ 40.)
The defendants paint a very different picture of the Springer incident. The defendants assert that Silverman offered money to Springer to be his "girlfriend," and that, after offering Springer money, Silverman ran his fingers through Springer's hair. (See Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 27-28; see also Def.'s Ex. 12.) After Springer and two other summer youth workers reported Silverman's actions, the defendants, aware that Silverman had a number of disciplinary incidents in the past (see Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 13-20), accused Silverman of sexual harassment and brought him up on administrative charges with the intent of having him fired.
Thus, two days after the incident, on July 17, 1997, Silverman was called to HPD's Disciplinary Unit, where he received a notice of immediate suspension without pay. (See Sec. Am.Compl. ¶ 46.) Silverman also was informed by defendant Mario Ferrigno, the Deputy Director of HPD's Disciplinary Unit, that he would likely face criminal charges as a result of the incident involving Ms. Springer. (See id.) At some later time, which is unspecified in the Second Amended Complaint, Silverman contends that he was called in for several additional meetings with HPD officials, including officials at the Inspector General's Office and the Disciplinary Unit. (See id. ¶ 52.) At these meetings, Silverman pleaded with defendant Deena Ghaly, HPD's Deputy General Counsel of Labor Relations, to permit him to complete the one and a half remaining years of service that he needed in order for his pension benefits to accrue. (See id. ¶ 55.) Defendant Ghaly discussed the matter with defendant Richard Roberts, the Commissioner of HPD, and then denied Silverman's request to remain at HPD, threatening that if he did not resign voluntarily, he would be terminated. (See id.)
Apparently, some discussion took place concerning a hearing to determine whether there was just cause for Silverman's termination, but defendants Ghaly, Ferrigno and Neil Kaplan, the Director of HPD's Disciplinary Unit, informed Silverman that if he chose to go through with a hearing he was "not going to win," and that losing a hearing would be difficult to endure at his age. (See id. ¶ 52.) Allegedly coerced by Ghaly, Ferrigno and Kaplan, Silverman involuntarily resigned from his position at HPD. (See id. ¶ 57.)
Silverman contends that the investigation that led to his suspension and "forced" resignation was the result of a conspiracy in which a "racist, anti-Semitic troika" made up of defendants Paul Navarro (Deputy Director of HPD's West Manhattan Area Office), Andrew Lawrence (a Principal Administrative Associate in HPD's West Manhattan Area Office), and Phoebe Arnold (also a Principal Administrative Associate in HPD's West Manhattan Area Office) used the incident with Ms. Springer as "an opportunity to rid themselves of the white, Jewish elderly plaintiff, who in their view did not belong in the Harlem office of HPD." (Id. ¶ 41.) According to Silverman, the racism and anti-Semitism of these defendants is evidenced by the fact that (i) Navarro and Lawrence, on several unspecified occasions, called Silverman a "Jew bastard" and a "Jew fuck," and asked him to explain why a "supposedly wealthy, white Jewish old man would want to work in Harlem with ... `so many minorities'" (id. ¶ 24); and (ii) Arnold referred to him as the "Banker" of HPD (id. ¶ 26). Silverman further contends that Navarro, Arnold, and Lawrence, along with defendant William Abdul-Khaaliq (a Real Property Manager in HPD's West Manhattan Office), fabricated evidence and provided knowingly false and "stigmatizing" evidence to HPD's Disciplinary Unit and the Inspector General's Office during the course of the investigation into the Springer incident. (See id. ¶ 42-49.)
Sometime in 1998, after Silverman had resigned, he learned that Lawrence had been accused of sexually harassing a tenant in a property managed by HPD. (See id. ¶ 65.) In contrast to his own experience, Silverman contends that Lawrence was not suspended, but instead was simply required to undergo counseling. Silverman asserts that this difference in treatment resulted from the fact that Lawrence was not white, Jewish, or a senior citizen. (See id. ¶¶ 67-77.) Silverman further asserts that, upon filing his original complaint in this action, the defendants became "worried" that they had been caught "red handed" treating Silverman more harshly than Lawrence. Silverman alleges that the defendants then engaged in a scheme whereby they had Lawrence's misconduct case reopened and had Lawrence fired for his misconduct, in order to "diminish the force" of Silverman's claims. (See id.)
Based on the foregoing, Silverman asserts four claims in his Second Amended Complaint. In his first claim, Silverman alleges that the defendants discriminated against him on the basis of his age, race and religion, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the New York State and City Human Rights Laws, and the New York State Constitution. (See id. ¶ 81.) Silverman also alleges that, to the extent the defendants discriminated against him on the basis of his religion, the defendants have violated 42 U.S.C. § 1981. (See id.) Silverman further alleges that the City is liable under federal and state law as a result of this religious discrimination. (See id.) In his second claim, Silverman alleges that, as a result of the above-mentioned conduct, the defendants have violated his rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, as well as state law. (See id. ¶¶ 84-85.) Like his first claim, Silverman alleges that the City is liable as a result of this violation. (See id. ¶ 86.) In his third claim, Silverman alleges that the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to deprive him of his federal and state rights. (See id. ¶ 88.) Finally, in his fourth claim, Silverman alleges that the defendants defamed, libeled and slandered him. (See id. ¶ 90.)1
The defendants now move for summary judgment on Silverman's claims. They assert that Silverman cannot make out a prima facie case of discrimination, because he cannot show that his suspension and "constructive discharge" occurred under circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination. (See Def.Mem. at 12-23.) The defendants also assert that Silverman has failed to show that there was any agreement to violate Silverman's civil rights, scuttling his conspiracy claim. (See id. at 23-26.)2 Silverman responds that the record is replete with factual issues concerning whether (i) the defendants' acts occurred under circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination, and (ii) there was an agreement between the defendants to deprive Silverman of his civil rights. Accordingly, Silverman argues that the motion for summary judgment should be denied.
Summary judgment "shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions ... together with the affidavits ... show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). A "moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law [if] the nonmoving party has failed to make a sufficient showing on an essential...
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