Thuet v. Bd. of Educ.
| Decision Date | 07 October 2022 |
| Docket Number | 20 C 1369 |
| Parties | JOHN THUET and MICHELLE BRUMFIELD, Plaintiffs, v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO, JANICE JACKSON, in her official capacity as Chief Executive Officer and in her individual capacity, MICHAEL PASSMAN, in his official capacity as Chief Communications Officer and in his individual capacity, and LAURA LeMONE, in her official capacity as Network Chief, District 14, and in her individual capacity, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
JOHN THUET and MICHELLE BRUMFIELD, Plaintiffs,
v.
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO, JANICE JACKSON, in her official capacity as Chief Executive Officer and in her individual capacity, MICHAEL PASSMAN, in his official capacity as Chief Communications Officer and in his individual capacity, and LAURA LeMONE, in her official capacity as Network Chief, District 14, and in her individual capacity, Defendants.
No. 20 C 1369
United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division
October 7, 2022
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Judge Gary Feinerman
Former Chicago Public Schools (“CPS”) employees John Thuet and Michelle Brumfield claim that the Chicago Board of Education and CPS officials Dr. Janice Jackson, Michael Passman, and Laura LeMone violated 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state law in connection with their terminations from CPS. Doc. 1. Early in the litigation, the court dismissed with prejudice Plaintiffs' state law defamation claim against the Board. Docs. 38-39 (reported at 2020 WL 5702195 (N.D. Ill. Sep. 24, 2020)). With discovery completed and a jury trial set for the week of November 7, 2022, Doc. 101, Defendants move for summary judgment on Plaintiffs' remaining claims, Doc. 109. The motion is granted in part and denied in part.
Background
The court recites the facts as favorably to Plaintiffs as the record and Local Rule 56.1 allow. See Johnson v. Advoc. Health & Hosps. Corp., 892 F.3d 887, 893 (7th Cir. 2018). At this
juncture, the court must assume the truth of those facts, but does not vouch for them. See Gates v. Bd. of Educ. of Chi., 916 F.3d 631, 633 (7th Cir. 2019).
A. The Pertinent Incidents and Plaintiffs' Responses
In August 2019, John Thuet and Michelle Brumfield began working as the interim principal and assistant principal, respectively, of Lincoln Park High School. Doc. 134 at ¶ 1. Patrice Gordon, the head coach of the boys' basketball team, was responsible for obtaining the school's approval for the team's overnight and out-of-state trips. Doc. 147 ¶¶ 1-2; Doc. 130-1 at 44 (163:17-19). Brumfield would usually help Gordon gather the necessary paperwork, and she would then enter the pertinent information into the school's scheduling system for review and approval. Doc. 130-1 at 44 (163:17-21). CPS officials (but not Thuet or Brumfield) would then approve or deny the trip request. Id. at 44 (163:22-164:4); Doc. 134 at ¶ 11.
On December 12, 2019, Gordon emailed Thuet and Brumfield a request for the team to travel to a basketball tournament in Detroit, Michigan, from December 27 through 29. Doc. 134 at ¶ 14. The request lacked the paperwork necessary for Brumfield to submit it for approval. Ibid.; Doc. 147 at ¶ 7. Brumfield was frustrated, as Gordon had recently failed to provide the information necessary for a tournament in Florida, resulting in the team being unable to attend. Doc. 134 at ¶ 13; Doc. 147 at ¶ 7. Brumfield attempted to follow up with Gordon to gather the necessary paperwork for the Detroit trip, but Gordon did not respond. Doc. 147 at ¶ 7. Consequently, the trip was not approved. Id. at ¶ 8; Doc. 134 at ¶ 13.
Despite not receiving approval and unbeknownst to Thuet and Brumfield Gordon took the boys' basketball team to the Detroit tournament. Doc. 130-1 at 53 (198:8-10); Doc. 130-2 at 31 (113:15-21); Doc. 147 at ¶ 8. On the trip, one player clandestinely filmed a consensual sexual encounter with a female classmate who was the team's student manager.
Doc. 134 at ¶ 44; Doc. 147 at ¶ 9. The player showed the video to several of his teammates. Doc. 147 at ¶ 9.
The fathers of two other players, C.T. and M.M., learned about this incident. Id. at ¶ 10; Doc. 134 at ¶ 20. In the version of the story the fathers had heard, three players filmed themselves having sex with the student manager. Doc. 134 at ¶ 21. The fathers were disturbed, and on December 31 they communicated with Thuet via phone and email. Doc. 147 at ¶ 11. That day, Thuet apprised his direct supervisor-Laura LeMone, CPS's Chief of Schools of the situation and explained that he had not previously been aware of the Detroit trip. Id. at ¶ 12; Doc. 134 at ¶ 5. Thuet also apprised Brumfield and John Johnson, the high school's Dean of Students, of the allegations. Doc. 147 at ¶ 12.
On January 2, 2020, Thuet met with C.T.'s and M.M.'s fathers at a coffee shop. Id. at ¶ 13; Doc. 134 at ¶ 22. Thuet told the fathers that the school had not approved the Detroit trip, and he assured them that he would try to keep their identities confidential so that C.T. and M.M. would not face retaliation from other students. Doc. 147 at ¶ 13. After the meeting, Thuet contacted the Office of Student Protection (“OSP”) to relay the fathers' allegations. Id. at ¶ 14. OSP instructed Thuet to create safety plans for the four students allegedly involved in the sexual incident, and he did so with the help of Johnson and OSP personnel. Ibid. Thuet did not create safety plans for C.T. and M.M., as OSP had not directed him to do so. Id. at ¶ 16; Doc. 134 at ¶ 33.
Despite C.T.'s and M.M.'s desire to remain anonymous, their teammates somehow learned about their fathers' communications with the school. Doc. 134 at ¶ 29; Doc. 147 at ¶ 19. C.T. and M.M. began to experience harassment and intimidation from their teammates, including via text messages. Doc. 134 at ¶¶ 29-30. Then, at a team meeting, a coach brought together C.T.
and one of the harassers the student who had recorded the video-and told them to sort out their differences. Id. at ¶ 38; Doc. 147 at ¶ 19.
On January 9, C.T.'s father told Thuet about the team meeting. Doc. 147 at ¶ 19. On January 10, C.T.'s father sent Thuet copies of threatening texts that C.T. had received from his teammates. Id. at ¶ 20; Doc. 134 at ¶ 30. Thuet delegated to Johnson the responsibility of handling the texts and forwarded them to him with the intent that he would create an incident report. Doc. 134 at ¶ 30; Doc. 147 at ¶ 21. Having misunderstood Thuet's intent, Johnson did not create an incident report but instead spoke with C.T. and M.M. regarding the texts. Doc. 134 at ¶ 30; Doc. 147 at ¶ 21. On January 16, Thuet forwarded the texts to the OSP investigator who had been investigating the Detroit incident. Doc. 134 at ¶ 25; Doc. 147 at ¶ 21.
At around the same time, an unrelated incident regarding the girls' basketball team came to light. Doc. 147 at ¶ 24 n.3. On January 17, the head coach of the girls' team sent a message to C.P., a player, stating: “I heard you were crying that practice got canceled [ sic ]. so I am going to come up with a individual [sic] practice for you [thumbs-up emoji] don't worry kid I got you [winking face emoji].” Id. at ¶ 24. The text disturbed C.P.'s mother, who reported it to the school's Office of Inspector General (“OIG”). Ibid.; Doc. 134 at ¶ 46.
On January 22, OIG informed Thuet and Brumfield of the matter, told them that it would investigate, and specifically directed them not to investigate the matter themselves. Doc. 134 at ¶ 47. But OIG also told Thuet to interview C.P. so that he could gather information for an incident report and inform C.P. of the school resources available to her. Ibid.; Doc. 147 at ¶ 24. Thuet delegated those responsibilities to Brumfield, who interviewed C.P. in her office on January 23. Doc. 134 at ¶ 50; Doc. 147 at ¶ 25. At the interview, C.P. explained that her coach's text had bothered her mother but not her; she also said that she was okay and did not
need anything. Doc. 147 at ¶ 25. The interview occurred without C.P.'s parents' permission, which Defendants claim violated school rules. Doc. 134 at ¶ 48.
Meanwhile, on January 29, C.T.'s father emailed Dr. Janice Jackson CPS's Chief Executive Officer about the harassment C.T. had endured. Id. at ¶ 39. C.T.'s father explained that C.T. had been outed as the source of reports about the Detroit trip, leading to retaliation from his teammates. Ibid. As a result, the email explained, C.T. was depressed and considering transferring high schools. Ibid. Dr. Jackson asked CPS's Chief Education Officer, LaTanya McDade, to follow up with C.T.'s and M.M.'s parents. Id. at ¶ 40. McDade did so, and the two fathers communicated their concerns about ongoing harassment and intimidation. Ibid.
The next day, January 30, CPS investigators met with Thuet regarding the Detroit incident and its aftermath. Id. at ¶ 41. Thuet explained that he had not known about the trip beforehand and that Johnson had been dealing with the harassment of C.T. Ibid. During the meeting, Thuet called Brumfield, who likewise explained that she had not known about the Detroit trip until after it had occurred. Ibid.
B. Plaintiffs' Terminations and CPS's Public Statements
Dr. Jackson concluded that Plaintiffs had harmed C.T. by inadequately reporting the harassment and intimidation he was experiencing. Id. at ¶ 43. Dr. Jackson also concluded that Plaintiffs' inaction had harmed the student manager filmed on the Detroit trip, id. at ¶ 44, and that Brumfield had endangered C.P. by interviewing her about her coach's text message, id. at ¶ 53.
On January 31, Dr. Jackson terminated Thuet and Brumfield and designated both “Do Not Hire.” Id. at ¶¶ 55-56. (“Do Not Hire” is an internal designation that precludes the designee from obtaining a position with CPS. Id. at ¶ 56; Docs. 116-5, 116-6.) That day, LeMone sent a
letter to the school's parents reporting that Thuet and Brumfield had been removed. Doc. 116-7; Doc. 134 at ¶ 65. The letter stated that “we expect our school leaders and staff to prioritize the safety and security of all students and we have zero tolerance for any behavior that compromises the wellbeing of our students,” and invited parents to attend a February 3 meeting to discuss “the school leadership change and transition plans.” Doc. 116-7 at 2.
At the February 3 meeting, LeMone and other CPS officials presented a slide deck- which Dr....
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