Waters v. Dist. of Columbia

CourtUnited States District Courts. United States District Court (Columbia)
PartiesKIM WATERS, Plaintiff, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al., Defendants.
Docket NumberCivil Action 18-2652 (ABJ)
Decision Date10 March 2022

KIM WATERS, Plaintiff,
v.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 18-2652 (ABJ)

United States District Court, District of Columbia

March 10, 2022


MEMORANDUM OPINION

AMY BERMAN JACKSON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

On October 3, 2018, plaintiff Kim Waters brought this action in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, arising out of her employment at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services between 2016 and 2018. She sued the District of Columbia, Willie Fullilove, and Linda Harllee Harper, Ex. 1 to Notice of Removal [Dkt. # 1-1] at 11, and on September 17, 2019, she amended her complaint to include defendant Lennie V. Moore. See Second Am. Compl. [Dkt. # 26] ¶ 9.[1]

Waters alleges that her supervisor, Fullilove, subjected her to sexual harassment in the workplace based on her gender, Compl. ¶¶ 94, 124, offering to promote her in exchange for sexual favors and threatening to demote her or punish her in other ways if she failed to comply. Compl. ¶¶ 107-08, 114, 135. She alleges that Fullilove's supervisor, Harllee Harper, knew about the harassment, but did not act to end it or discipline Fullilove, Compl. ¶¶ 95, 125, and that she later retaliated against her for making a complaint. Compl. ¶¶ 114, 135. Plaintiff also claims that

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she was subjected to retaliation by the District of Columbia and Moore. See Compl. ¶¶ 112-20; 132-47. The complaint consists of six counts:

■ Count I, against the District of Columbia, Fullilove and Harllee Harper alleges a hostile work environment in violation of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act (“DCHRA”), D.C. Code §§ 2-1401-1403 (2001). See Compl. ¶¶ 92-101
■ Count II, against the District of Columbia and Fullilove alleges quid pro quo harassment in violation of the DCHRA. See Compl. ¶¶ 102-11
■ Count III, against all defendants alleges retaliation in violation of the DCHRA. See Compl. ¶¶ 112-20.
■ Count IV, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Fullilove and Harllee Harper alleges a hostile work environment in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. See Compl. ¶¶ 121-31.
■ Count V, against Fullilove, Harllee Harper, and Moore alleges retaliation in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution under section 1983. See Compl. ¶¶ 132-41.
■ Count VI, against the District of Columbia alleges retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. See Compl. ¶¶ 142-47.

There are multiple dispositive motions pending before the Court: a motion for summary judgment filed by the District of Columbia (“District”), Fullilove, and Harllee Harper, Defs. District, Fullilove, and Harllee Harper Mot. for Summ. J. [Dkt. # 50] (“Mot.”); plaintiffs cross motion for summary judgment, Pl.'s Cross Mot. for Summ. J. [Dkt. # 60] (“Cross Mot.”); and Moore's motion for judgment on the pleadings and for summary judgment. Def Moore's Mot. for J. on the Pleadings [Dkt. # 51] (“Moore's Mot.”). Defendants have also moved to strike a declaration plaintiff submitted in support of her motion. Defs. District, Fullilove, Harllee Harper, and Moore's Mot. to Strike [Dkt. # 68] (“Mot. to Strike”). All of the motions are fully briefed.[2]

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The case involves completely inappropriate conduct on the part of Waters's supervisor, Fullilove. But the record also contains undisputed evidence that Waters encouraged Fullilove's advances for a period of time, and that management took swift action as soon as Waters complained about what was going on. For the reasons to be set forth in more detail below, then, the motion for summary judgment filed by the District, Fullilove, and Harllee Harper will be GRANTED. While the hostile work environment claim against Fullilove himself (Counts I and IV) will stand, the Court will enter judgment in favor of the District on Counts I, II, III, and VI; in favor of Fullilove on Counts II, III, and V; and in favor of Harllee Harper on Counts I, III, IV, and V. Plaintiff's cross-motion for summary judgment on Counts I, III, IV, V, and VI will be DENIED. The motion filed by Moore will also be GRANTED, and the Court will enter judgment in favor of Moore on Counts III and V. Finally, the motion to strike plaintiff's declaration filed by the District, Fullilove, Harllee Harper, and Moore will be DENIED AS MOOT.

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BACKGROUND

At all relevant times, Kim Waters has been employed by the District's Department of Youth and Rehabilitation Services (“DYRS”) as a Youth Development Representative. Defs.' SOF ¶ 1; Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOF ¶ 1.[3]

Willie Fullilove supervised Waters, Defs.' SOF ¶ 2; Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOF ¶ 2, and Linda Harllee Harper supervised Fullilove. Defs.' SOF ¶ 3; Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOF ¶ 3. Waters worked at DYRS's Youth Services Center facility, which is also where Fullilove was located. See Defs.' SOF ¶¶ 5, 7; Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOF ¶¶ 5, 7. Lennie Moore served as a DYRS Human Resources Officer. See Ex. 16 to Opp., Letter from Lennie Moore to Kim Waters (June 21, 2019) [Dkt. # 56-16] (“Ex. 16 to Opp.”).

I. Sexual Harassment Claims

Beginning in approximately August 2015, Waters asserts, Fullilove began greeting her with a hug every day. Ex. A to Mot., Pl.'s Answers to Defs.' First Set of Interrogs. [Dkt. # 50-1] (“Pl.'s

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Answers to Interrog.”) at 4. Plaintiff asserts that by January 2016, Fullilove's “hugs became sexualized, grabbing, and pulling [her] ‘full-frontal' into his body, as [she] struggled to pull away from him or smack his hands away [from her]” - behavior that continued through January 2017. Id. In February 2016, Waters says, Fullilove began commenting on her clothing and general appearance. Id. at 5. Waters alleges that in April 2016, in front of the Youth Services Center facility, Fullilove instructed her to get into his car, and that he touched Waters's breast and leg and called attention to his erection after driving away. Id. She asserts that this sort of behavior continued: between January 2016 and January 2017, Fullilove ordered her into his office “almost daily, ” and “engaged [her] in sexually inappropriate conversations, ” “rub[bed] [her] thigh and breasts, ” “gyrate[d] on [her], ” exposed himself, and requested sexual intercourse. Id. Waters also claims that between February 2016 and January 2017, Fullilove “routinely called and texted” her and engaged in sexually inappropriate conversations. Id. at 6. Around January 2017, Waters began “experiencing chest pains, shortness of breath, and numbness in [her] hands” resulting from the “stress and anxiety of Fullilove's sexual harassment, ” which forced her to “seek emergency medical treatment.” Id. at 6-7.

Defendants produced evidence to show that Waters was an active participant in these exchanges with Fullilove. Defs.' SOF ¶¶ 13-14; Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOF ¶¶ 13-14. Beginning in 2015, Waters sent Fullilove text messages on his government cell phone on weekends and after work hours, including messages with a “‘kissy face' emoji, an emoji with hearts for eyes, and a ‘bitmoji' winking that said ‘I LIKE YOU!, '” as well as statements that she liked the way he placed his lips on a bottle during a meeting and complimenting his appearance in a suit. Defs.' SOF ¶¶ 13-14; Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOF ¶¶ 13-14; Ex. C to Mot., Defs.' Excerpts of Pl.'s Apr. 3, 2019 Dep. [Dkt. # 50-1] (“Ex. C to Mot.”) at 131:5-132:1. Waters also sent Fullilove

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photographs of herself in pajama shorts, a tank top, and her underwear. Ex. C to Mot. at 131:17- 132:1. She asserts that she sent these messages “out of fear that if she did not make him feel good her job would be at risk.” Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOF ¶ 14. “Any time I rebuffed Fullilove's sexually inappropriate comments and/or conduct he threatened to take back the union office, [4] put me back on the draft where I would have to work overtime, and not promote me to Grade 9.” Pl.'s Answers to Interrog. at 7. Waters also feared Fullilove would endeavor to fire her if she did not comply with his advances. Defs.' SOF ¶ 15; Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOF ¶ 15.

Waters asserts that Harllee Harper, Fullilove's supervisor, was aware of his inappropriate behavior because, during several meetings, “Harllee-Harper observed Fullilove invading Waters' personal space, hugging her, and engaging in other inappropriate touching, as Waters leaned away, or tried to pull or get away from his presence.” Compl. ¶ 41; see also Pl.'s Answers to Interrog. at 7; Defs.' SOF ¶ 21; Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOF ¶ 21.[5]

The agency's sexual harassment policy advises any employee who believes they are being subjected to sexual harassment that they “should immediately take action” by filing a complaint with a DYRS supervisor or manager, a DYRS Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) Officer, the District's Office of Human Rights (“OHR”), or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). Ex. E to Mot., DYRS Policy and Procedures Manual, Sexual Harassment in the Workplace [Dkt. # 50-1] (“Sexual Harassment Policy”) at 4. Any supervisor or manager who is informed about a sexual harassment allegation is bound to report the allegation to a DYRS

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EEO Officer and the alleged harasser's supervisor, and to notify the harasser of the allegation and to stop the alleged conduct. Id. at 4-5. Then, the EEO Officer is directed to “promptly initiate investigations” of the allegations. Id. at 5.[6]

Waters filed a sexual harassment complaint with OHR on February 2, 2017. See Defs.' SOF ¶ 23; Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOF ¶ 23. She also filed a sexual harassment complaint on February 3, 2017 to the DYRS Department of Human Resources, which transmitted the complaint to the District's Department of Human Resources (“DCHR”). Defs.' SOF ¶¶ 24-25; Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOF ¶¶ 24-25.

On February 5, 2017, two days after Waters filed her complaint, DYRS transferred her to...

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