Wilkinson v. Nord Anglia Educ. Ltd.
| Decision Date | 29 July 2019 |
| Docket Number | 17 Civ. 7421 (PAE) |
| Parties | ALAN WILKINSON, Plaintiff, v. NORD ANGLIA EDUCATION LTD., et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Plaintiff Alan Wilkinson brings this action against defendants Nord Anglia Education Limited, Nord Anglia Education, Inc., and Nord Anglia International School New York (collectively, "Nord Anglia" or the "defendants"). Wilkinson served as a principal of the Nord Anglia International School of New York (formerly known as the World Class Learning Academy of New York and, hereinafter, the "New York School") from September 1, 2013, to June 28, 2013, when he was terminated. He alleges that he was terminated in retaliation for complaining about Nord Anglia's treatment of an African-American employee, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a) et seq. ("Title VII"), the New York State Human Rights Law ("NYSHRL"), and the New York City Human Rights Law ("NYCHRL").1 Pending now is defendants' motion for summary judgment on Wilkinson'sclaims. Wilkinson opposes defendants' motion, arguing that disputes of material fact preclude an award of summary judgment. For the reasons that follow, the Court denies the motion.
Nord Anglia Education, Inc. is an international for-profit organization that operates 56 schools in 27 countries around the world. JSF ¶ 1. It operates eight Nord Anglia schools in the United States, including, relevant here, the New York School, located in Manhattan. Id. ¶ 2. Nord Anglia is headquartered in Hong Kong. Def. 56.1 ¶ 3. It is managed by CEO Andrew Fitzmaurice, in consultation with the Nord Anglia Executive Committee, which meetsapproximately 10 times per year. Id. Nicky Duggan Redfern is the Chief Human Resources Officer for Nord Anglia at the global level and is a member of the Executive Committee. Id. ¶ 5. Ann McPhee is the Regional Managing Director of the Americas for Nord Anglia. Id. ¶ 6. Her predecessor in this position, David Graves, served as the Regional Managing Director between March 2014 and January 2016. Id. ¶ 7. Sara Padilla is the Human Resources Director of the Americas for Nord Anglia.
Wilkinson, a citizen of the United Kingdom, served as principal of the New York School from September 1, 2013, to June 23, 2016, when he was involuntarily terminated. JSF ¶¶ 4-5, 27. Wilkinson had been employed by various of the defendants since 2003 as a teacher and vice-principal in other schools. Id. ¶ 6. By the time Wilkinson was hired at the New York School, he had 20 years experience, including more than a decade's service as head of another Nord Anglia school. Wilkinson Decl. ¶ 5. The principals of the Nord Anglia U.S. schools report directly to their respective regional managing directors, and the regional managing directors in turn report to Fitzmaurice. Def. 56.1 ¶ 9.
Wilkinson began working as principal of the New York School in September 2013. Wilkinson, who is Caucasian, states that when he first started as principal, the New York School employed few African-Americans in non-janitorial positions, and there were few non-white students in attendance. Pl. 56.1 ¶ E. On August 10, 2014, after approximately one year as principal, Wilkinson hired Tshinguta "Lily" Lufuluabo, an African-American, as a receptionist and personal assistant. JSF ¶ 9-10. In October 2014, Lufuluabo's responsibilities were expanded to include work related to marketing and admissions. Id. ¶ 11.
In August 2014, Wilkinson offered Lufuluabo's son—also African-American—a one-year scholarship at the New York School. Id. ¶¶ 12-13. For the 2014-15 academic year, the New York School was authorized to extend two scholarships to students. Def. 56.1 ¶ 20. The two scholarships were earmarked for female students; to offer a scholarship to a male student, Wilkinson required the approval of Graves, his manager. Id. ¶ 22. The parties dispute whether Wilkinson obtained supervisory approval to extend a scholarship to Lufuluabo's son. Compare Def. 56.1 ¶ 24 with Pl. 56.1 at 10-11.
During the 2013-14 academic year, Graves served as Managing Director of North America for Nord Anglia. As such, he was Wilkinson's immediate supervisor. Def. 56.1 ¶ 25. On December 2, 2014, Wilkinson received his performance evaluation from David Graves for the 2013-14 academic year. Id. ¶ 26. The evaluation scale ranges from a score of "1," for "outstanding" performance, to "4" for "needs improvement." Rao Decl. Ex. H ("2013-14 Evaluation") at 6. For the 2013-14 academic year, Graves proposed giving Wilkinson the second-lowest score of "3," for a "developing" performance. Id. at 8.
A March 2015 document entitled "Executive Committee Report: North America, March 2015" ("March 2015 Report"), states, with respect to the New York School, Def. 56.1 ¶ 31.3
During Graves' tenure as Wilkinson's manager, from 2013 to 2015, Graves and CEO Fitzmaurice spoke every two weeks about the regional principals working under Graves, including Wilkinson. Def. 56.1 ¶¶ 41-43. The parties dispute whether Graves and Fitzmaurice discussed, in these meetings, whether Wilkinson should be removed from his position as principal of the New York School. Pl. 56.1 at 17.
In April 2015, Lufuluabo informed Wilkinson that her son had discussed being abused by another student at the New York School. JSF ¶ 14. The child accused of the abuse was the son of another teacher at the school. Def. 56.1 ¶ 33. After learning of this alleged abuse, Wilkinson informed the relevant state authorities and contacted his manager, Graves, and the Nord Anglia Human Resources Director, Sara Padilla. JSF ¶ 15. Wilkinson testified that defendants' regional managers did not express serious concern for Lufuluabo's son or the need to prevent future such incidents. Pl. 56.1 ¶ G. Wilkinson arranged to keep the children separate from each other. Id. ¶ H. The parties agree that Wilkinson followed proper protocol with respect to this incident. Def. 56.1 ¶ 39.
In June 2015, Charlotte Jack, a teacher at the New York School in charge of health and safety matters, prepared a report regarding the alleged assault (the "Jack Report"). JSF ¶ 17. It recommended that the child who allegedly engaged in abusive conduct not be permitted to returnto the New York School for the 2015-16 academic year without first receiving psychological counseling. Pl. 56.1 ¶ H. However, at the end of the 2014-15 school year, Lufuluabo complained that the alleged abuse her son had suffered had not been adequately addressed. Id. ¶ I. Wilkinson met with Nord Anglia regional managers, including Padilla. Id. Padilla informed Wilkinson to keep the incident "off email." Id. Padilla testified that she told Wilkinson not to discuss the matter on email because she learned that Lufuluabo had access to Wilkinson's emails, and Padilla felt it would be inappropriate to discuss Lufuluabo in emails that Lufuluabo could read. Bruening Decl. Ex 16 ("Padilla Dep.") at 378-79.
Both students involved in the April 2015 incident returned to the New York School for the 2015-16 academic year. Pl. 56.1 ¶ J. Wilkinson states that he repeatedly asked Nord Anglia's regional management and legal counsel about the incident and was advised that Nord Anglia had a "plan" in place to address the issue. Id. He states that the plan was never articulated to him. Id.
On September 10, 2015, shortly after the 2015-16 school year began, Lufuluabo complained to Wilkinson, Jack, and other Nord Anglia employees that Nord Anglia had not taken any action to assure that the abusive conduct would not be repeated. Id. ¶ K. Lufuluabo further complained that the mother of the allegedly offending student had claimed that her son had received psychological counseling when he had in fact not received any such counseling. Id. Wilkinson conveyed Lufuluabo's concerns to Nord Anglia regional management. Id. ¶ L.
In August and September 2015, Nord Anglia documented certain performance issues associated with the New York School. An August 2015 Executive Committee Report ("August 2015 Report") recorded that "[c]oncerns regarding the leadership of the [New York School]continue." Def. 56.1 ¶ 44. The September 2015 Executive Committee Report contained an identical notation. Id. ¶ 45. It further stated Id.4
On September 29, 2015, Padilla sent Graves, Wilkinson's immediate supervisor, an email containing an attached "Talent Profile" for Wilkinson (the "Talent Profile" or "Profile").5 With respect to the section entitled "Competency Area Accountable," the Profile states that Wilkinson was "Developing" and that he "continues to struggle with understanding the metrics of the business, such as budget, enrollment, etc." Def. 56.1 ¶ 52. With respect to a section entitled "Competency Area Enabling," the Profile states that Wilkinson "finds challenge with difficult staff conversations and therefore the performance of staff and deadlines have suffered." Id. ¶ 53. With respect to a section entitled "Competency Area Agile," the Profile scores Wilkinson as "Needs Improvement" and states that "[w]hile numbers appear to have improve[d] slightly, Alan faces many...
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