Wilson v. Wayne County

• Decision Date: 24 May 1994
• Docket Number: No. 1-92-0148.,1-92-0148.
• Parties: Wendy Lee WILSON, et al. v. WAYNE COUNTY, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Tennessee

856 F. Supp. 1254

Wendy Lee WILSON, et al. v. WAYNE COUNTY, et al.

No. 1-92-0148.

United States District Court, M.D. Tennessee, Columbia Division.

May 24, 1994.

John S. Colley, III, Colley & Colley, Columbia, TN, for plaintiffs.

William Stuart Fleming, Fleming, Holloway & Flynn, Columbia, TN, James Y. Ross, Lackey, Lackey & Ross, Waynesboro, TN, for defendant Wayne County, Tenn James Y. Ross, Lackey, Lackey & Ross, Waynesboro, TN, for defendant Wayne County Sheriff's Dept.

William Gary Blackburn, Blackburn & Slobey, P.C., Nashville, TN, George G. Gray, Waynesboro, TN, for defendant Leon "Buddy" Nutt.

MEMORANDUM

HIGGINS, District Judge.

This is a Title VII sexual harassment and retaliatory discharge action brought by Wendy Lee Wilson and Stevie Burns. Ms. Wilson alleges that Leon "Buddy" Nutt, the sheriff of Wayne County, Tennessee, sexually harassed her while she was working as a dispatcher for the Wayne County Sheriff's Department. Mr. Burns alleges that Sheriff Nutt fired him from his job as a deputy sheriff in retaliation for opposing the harassment of Ms. Wilson.

The plaintiffs originally sued Wayne County, the Wayne County Sheriff's Department, and Sheriff Nutt. They subsequently settled their claims against Wayne County and the Wayne County Sheriff's Department.¹ Thus, when this case came to be tried, only Sheriff Nutt remained as a defendant.

Now, having heard all the evidence, the Court finds that Sheriff Nutt did sexually harass Ms. Wilson and that he did terminate Mr. Burns in retaliation for opposing this harassment. Nevertheless, the Court concludes that Title VII does not permit suits against individual defendants in their individual capacities. Accordingly, the Court shall dismiss this action with prejudice.

I. Findings of Fact.²

Wendy Lee Wilson is twenty years old. At age eleven, she was abducted in Wayne County, Tennessee, and raped. Her attacker was arrested, and he is still in prison. In the spring of 1992, Ms. Wilson began working as a dispatcher at the Wayne County Sheriff's Department. She was still a senior in high school and planned to go away to college in the fall. The sheriff's department hired her with the understanding that she would leave her position on July 31 to attend college.

Leon "Buddy" Nutt is fifty-five years old. He was elected Sheriff of Wayne County in 1990. When Ms. Wilson began working at the sheriff's department, Sheriff Nutt knew that she had been raped. He remembered the incident from the time it happened. He also discussed it with another sheriff's department employee, to whom he expressed his belief that Ms. Wilson was emotionally disturbed as a result of the rape.

Stevie Burns is thirty-three years old. He has worked for the Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company for fifteen years. In October, 1990, he began working part-time as a volunteer "auxiliary officer" for the Wayne County Sheriff's Department. In October, 1991, he was added to the sheriff's department payroll. See defendant's exhibit D-1 (sheriff's department payroll records). Mr. Burns started off as a dispatcher and warrant server. However, over time, he assumed the duties of a deputy sheriff.³ In order to remain in a law enforcement position at the sheriff's department, Mr. Burns had to attend training at the Tennessee Law Enforcement Academy within one year of being hired. Sometime in the spring of 1992, Mr. Burns learned that Tom Rinehart would be hired as a new sheriff's deputy. Sheriff Nutt assured Mr. Burns that he would still be going to the Law Enforcement Academy in August or September and told him to "get his papers together." This meant, in part, that Mr. Burns should go for a psychological examination, which he did in June.

During 1992 and 1993, the number of sheriff's department employees frequently changed. Excluding the sheriff but including his chief deputy, there were fifteen or more employees on the payroll for twenty weeks in each of 1992 and 1993.⁴ Excluding the sheriff and the chief deputy, there were fewer than fifteen employees for twenty weeks in either 1992 or 1993. See defendant's exhibit D-1.

The sheriff's department employees had differing opinions about Ms. Wilson's demeanor at work. The cook, a fifty-seven-year-old woman, thought Ms. Wilson dressed inappropriately. She recalls Ms. Wilson wearing shorts that revealed her buttocks. Other sheriff's department employees do not remember Ms. Wilson dressing inappropriately. The supervising dispatcher only recalls that Ms. Wilson "wore blue jeans a lot." The cook once complained to her superiors that Ms. Wilson and a young male dispatcher had engaged in "horseplay." An informal investigation was conducted, but there was no confirmation of any misconduct. Ms. Wilson and the other young dispatcher did occasionally engage in innocent hijinks, but they never kissed or touched each other in a sexual manner. On one occasion, Ms. Wilson stopped by headquarters on the way back from a canoe trip wearing a one-piece bathing suit and shorts. Sheriff Nutt was not present, but several employees saw her in this attire and observed that her breasts were visible through the bathing suit. At some point during the summer, Ms. Wilson and Mr. Burns became intimate. They had sexual relations in late May or early July.

On July 4, Ms. Wilson had an automobile accident that caused substantial damage to her car. She determined that she would be unable to afford to repair the car if she went away to college. Therefore, she asked Sheriff Nutt if she could stay on as a dispatcher after July 31. The sheriff responded that she could not remain as a full-time dispatcher because her replacement had already been hired. However, he added there was a strong possibility that she could continue to work part-time and that he would "think about it."

On July 13, at approximately 1:30 in the morning, Sheriff Nutt arrived at headquarters. He went into the dispatch room, where Ms. Wilson was on duty, and the two engaged in conversation. The sheriff told Ms. Wilson about a video he had rented, and they talked briefly about the sheriff's son, who was a friend of Ms. Wilson. They also talked about Ms. Wilson's plans for college and how they had been affected by her automobile accident. Ms. Wilson again indicated that she hoped the sheriff would let her continue working in the fall. After Ms. Wilson mentioned that she was nearly out of complaint-cards, the sheriff got up and went to his office. He returned shortly and asked Ms. Wilson to join him in the office.

Ms. Wilson followed Sheriff Nutt into his office believing that he was going to show her where he kept the complaint-cards. The sheriff locked the door behind them and turned out the lights. Ms. Wilson was very surprised by the sheriff's actions, and she froze in fear. The sheriff then kissed her and put his hand on her breast. Ms. Wilson said nothing and did not resist. The sheriff then put his hand on Ms. Wilson's crotch, and he took her hand and placed it on his own crotch. Still Ms. Wilson did not resist or tell the sheriff to stop, but she did withdraw her hand once he was no longer holding it against him. Sheriff Nutt then unzipped Ms. Wilson's jump-suit and told her to get on the floor. Ms. Wilson just stood there, until the sheriff pulled her down to the floor. The sheriff penetrated Ms. Wilson on the office floor. Afterwards, he told her not to tell anyone what had just taken place.

Sheriff Nutt never threatened Ms. Wilson, nor did he explicitly offer her any reward, such as continued employment, in exchange for sexual favors. The sheriff's son was asleep in the living quarters, just a few yards from the office, during the entire time Ms. Wilson and the sheriff were inside. Had Ms. Wilson called out, the son would have heard.

Ms. Wilson believed she was being raped. However, she did not resist because she thought it would be futile. She had tried to resist when she was raped at age eleven but to no avail. Therefore, she thought it would be useless to resist against the sheriff.⁵

After the incident in the sheriff's office Ms. Wilson returned to the dispatch room. Sheriff Nutt went to his bed and fell asleep.

At approximately 2:00 a.m., Ms. Wilson called Stevie Burns at his home and told him that the sheriff had just raped her. From his home, Mr. Burns called his supervisor, Sergeant Charles Crosslin, to report what he had been told. Mr. Burns then drove to the sheriff's department headquarters. He talked with Ms. Wilson and asked whether she wanted to file charges against Sheriff Nutt. Ms. Wilson replied that she wanted to file charges, and Mr. Burns telephoned an assistant district attorney to report her allegations. He then telephoned another sheriff's department employee to procure a rape-detection-kit. Mr. Burns also called another dispatcher to fill in for Ms. Wilson. He then drove her to the hospital. Witnesses who saw Ms. Wilson in the early morning of July 13 observed that she was crying; her hair was disheveled; and she appeared distraught.

Wendy Wilson never returned to work at the sheriff's department after the events of July 13. She was paid her ordinary wages through July 14. See plaintiff's exhibit P-1 (final paycheck stub). If Ms. Wilson had been paid through July 31, the day she originally planned to leave work at the sheriffs department, she would have earned an additional $396.42.

Stevie Burns was beginning a period of family leave on July 13 because his mother had just been diagnosed with cancer. Sometime between July 13 and July 22, Mr. Burns appeared under subpoena before the Wayne County Grand Jury, which was investigating Ms. Wilson's allegations of rape.⁶ On July 22, the day Mr. Burns returned to work, he was discharged. His separation notice described the reason for his discharge as "budget restrictions." See plaintiff's exhibit P-2 (separation notice). Mr. Burns was not given a choice of staying on as a dispatcher. As of July 22, there were five dispatchers...