Sista v. Cdc Ixis North America, Inc.
| Decision Date | 13 April 2006 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 05-1506-CV(L).,Docket No. 05-1625-CV(XAP). |
| Citation | 445 F.3d 161 |
| Parties | A. Michael SISTA, Plaintiff-Appellant-Cross-Appellee, v. CDC IXIS NORTH AMERICA, INC., Ramine Rouhani, Adil Nathani, Albert Zakes, Lawrence Laier, and Kemal Mehta, Defendants-Appellees-Cross-Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Todd J. Krouner (Susanna L. Mould, of counsel), Law Office of Todd J. Krouner, Chappaqua, NY, for Plaintiff-Appellant-Cross-Appellee.
Howard J. Rubin (Maureen McLoughlin and Jane S. Friedman, of counsel), Davis & Gilbert, LLP, New York, NY, for Defendants-Appellees-Cross-Appellants.
Barbara L. Sloan (Eric S. Dreiband and Vincent J. Blackwood, on the brief), Amicus Curiae Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Washington, DC, in support of Plaintiff-Appellant-Cross-Appellee.
Ann Elizabeth Reesman, Amicus Curiae Equal Employment Advisory Council, McGuiness Norriss & Williams, LLP Washington, DC, in support of Defendants-Appellees-Cross-Appellants.
Before: MINER and CABRANES, Circuit Judges, and CURTIN, District Judge.1
Plaintiff-appellant-cross-appellee appeals from a judgment entered in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Daniels, J.) granting summary judgment to all defendants-appellees-cross-appellants, (i) dismissing his claim for employment discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the District Court having determined that he did not establish a prima facie case of discrimination and that defendants had a legitimate nondiscriminatory basis for dismissing him; (ii) dismissing his claim for violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, the District Court having determined that he (a) had not stated a claim on which relief could be granted and (b) did not establish his retaliation claim; (iii) dismissing his pendent state and municipal law claims; and (iv) denying his motion to amend his Complaint. Defendants-appellees-cross-appellants collectively appeal from the same judgment to the extent that it denies their motion for attorneys' fees and costs.
In setting forth the following facts, we draw all inferences in favor of the party opposing summary judgment in the proceeding below, which in this case was the plaintiff-appellant-cross-appellee A. Michael Sista ("Sista"). Sista was employed by defendant-appellee-cross-appellant CDC Ixis North America, Inc. ("CDC"), an investment bank, between 1996 and 2001. In March 2001, Sista was promoted by CDC at the behest of his direct supervisor, defendant-appellee-cross-appellant Adil Nathani ("Nathani"), to a managerial position in the "structured credit group." In this capacity, Sista held supervisory authority over a number of employees. Sometime in the spring of 2001, Nathani asked Sista to integrate defendant-appellee-cross-appellant Kemal Mehta ("Mehta") into the group as one of Sista's subordinates. After Mehta joined the group, Sista complained about his performance, but nothing was done to address Sista's complaints.
On May 3, 2001, Sista telephoned the CDC office while away on a business trip. Pursuant to CDC policy, the telephone conversation was recorded because it related to CDC's trading desk. After speaking with Mehta, Sista spoke to another of his subordinates, Paul Monaghan ("Monaghan"). Mehta overheard part of the conversation between Sista and Monaghan, though neither Sista nor Monaghan was aware of Mehta's presence. During a discussion of a transaction on which Mehta was working, Sista informed Monaghan that they would get another of Sista's subordinates to "beat [Mehta] up . . . on the details." Mehta took offense at this remark, believing that it reflected Sista's determination not to let him participate constructively in certain transactions of the structured credit group. Accordingly, Mehta reported the conversation to Nathani.
On May 4, 2001, Sista met with Nathani. According to Sista, Nathani asked him whether he had threatened Mehta or arranged "to have [his subordinate] beat the shit out of [Mehta]." Sista denied the allegations. Nonetheless, Nathani informed Sista that he was demoted and that Sista "ran the risk" of being terminated. Nathani also told Sista that he intended to meet with defendant-appellee-cross-appellant Ramine Rouhani ("Rouhani"), Nathani's boss, to discuss whether to terminate Sista's employment. Nathani could have, but did not, recommend Sista's termination to Rouhani. Sista later acknowledged that what he had said about Mehta was "inappropriate" and that he was "sorry."
After his demotion, Sista became depressed. The week after the demotion, Sista stayed home from work and slept. Monaghan called to speak to Sista at home but spoke to Sista's wife instead. Monaghan intimated to her that if Sista wanted to keep his job, he should return to work. On May 30, 2001, Sista again met with Nathani. Sista's notes of the meeting indicate that Sista told Nathani that he wanted to speak with the human resources department regarding a "mental health issue" that was "not impacting [his] ability to originate deals with [his] colleagues but it [was] having an impact on [his] family life." Nathani told Sista, that "[i]fits [sic] a benefits issue all you have to figure out is who the provider is, who do you use — not [an] HMO." Sista's notes reflect that Nathani would provide him with a list of physicians. After Sista informed Nathani that he would seek psychiatric help, Nathani stated that if Sista's condition impacted his ability to perform or if he perceived that Sista's condition had such an impact, Sista's transactions would be reassigned. Sista's transactions were not immediately reassigned.
According to Sista, Nathani did not provide the list of physicians, but instead told the human resources department not to help Sista. In a May 30, 2001, internal memorandum from Kimberly Sullivan ("Sullivan") to CDC's Director of Human Resources, defendant-appellee-cross-appellant Lawrence Laier ("Laier"), Sullivan stated that: "[Nathani is] now concerned that HR would tell [Sista] who to see professionally and based on what transpired through counseling would potentially damage CDC if brought to any kind of lawsuit." Sista contacted a psychiatrist, Dr. William Richardson, on his own. On June 4, 2001, he met with Dr. Richardson, who diagnosed him as suffering from a possible major depressive disorder and prescribed antidepressant medication. Sista did not tell anyone at CDC that he received a prescription for antidepressant medication.
On the morning of June 6, 2001, Sista met with Laier and secretly taped their conversation. Sista informed Laier that he had been to a psychiatrist because of his demotion. Sista was very agitated and shouted accusations about CDC pulling tapes of his telephone conversations and violating his privacy. Sista demanded to know if there was an intention to "transition [him] out." Sista also asked for an official investigation concerning the circumstances of his demotion. After this meeting, Sista called his wife on a CDC-taped telephone line and stated that he "blew up" and "yelled" during the meeting and that he "did not know what was going to happen now." After this meeting Laier called Nathani and CDC's General Counsel, defendant-appellee-cross-appellant Albert Zakes ("Zakes"), to report on his conversation with Sista. The three arrived at a joint decision to encourage Sista to take time off.
That afternoon, Zakes called Sista to a meeting that Nathani and Laier attended. Sista secretly recorded this meeting also. Laier said that Sista was "extremely emotional," that he did not "believe at this point . . . that [Sista was] able to see things in an objective and factual way," and that "CDC [was] prepared to work with" Sista. He advised Sista: "[I]f you would like . . . some vacation time off, just take some time [to] putter around the house . . . if you'd like to request Family [and] Medical Leave Act time, we will do that."
According to Sista, as the meeting progressed, he "could not control his mounting agitation" because of his demotion, the circumstances surrounding his demotion, his perception that his job security and livelihood were in jeopardy, and the denial of access to the CDC-taped conversation of his comments about Mehta. As he had done in his earlier meeting with Laier, Sista shouted and cursed during this meeting. While continuing to shout, Sista threatened Nathani. Specifically, Sista threatened: "If you pulled more than one tape, I swear to Christ . . . I swear to Christ I'm comin' for you." Immediately after this outburst, Nathani exclaimed: "Personal threat." Sista responded: "No, [n]o from a professional basis[,] I went to personnel." Laier informed Sista that he was being placed on paid leave of absence. Laier also told Sista that he would not be permitted to return to work at CDC unless he had a physician's note.
After Sista's threat, Laier had Sista's building pass deactivated and his access to CDC's server blocked. He also instructed CDC's facilities personnel not to permit Sista to enter the building. Nathani remained in Zakes' office for approximately two hours until Laier confirmed that Sista had left the building. Despite these other precautions, no one required security personnel to escort Sista from the building; indeed, they allowed him to remain and leave of his own accord. Laier also met with Mehta and another CDC employee and told them that Sista was potentially violent, had already threatened someone, and had mentioned both their names in an agitated way.
That night, Sista became depressed and attempted suicide by severing the artery in his left wrist. The next day, Sista's wife informed Laier that Sista had "cut himself and [the physicians] were keeping him." Laier told Sista's wife that her husband was on paid leave and that he would...
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