Adair v. Solis

742 F.Supp.2d 40

Paul C. ADAIR, Plaintiff,

v.Hilda SOLIS, Secretary of the Department of Labor, Defendant.1

Civil Action No. 04–1469(EGS).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Sept. 30, 2010.

Paul C. Adair, Washington, DC, pro se.Wyneva Johnson, U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C., Wynne Patrick Kelly, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

EMMET G. SULLIVAN, District Judge.

Plaintiff Paul Adair, pro se, was employed as a Trial Attorney by the United States Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, Division of Plan Benefits Security from 1995 to 2003. Plaintiff claims that defendant unlawfully discriminated against him on the basis of his race (African–American) and disability (depression) in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 791 et seq. Plaintiff also seeks review of the decision of the Merit System Protection Board (“MSPB”) affirming his termination by defendant for (i) failure to complete certain assignments, (ii) insubordination, and (iii) making statements to supervisors and co-workers that resulted in anxiety and disruption in the workplace. Plaintiff argues that the MSPB's decision is unsupported by substantial evidence, does not promote the efficiency of the federal service, and was rendered in violation of his due process rights. Defendant has moved for summary judgment on all of plaintiff's claims, and plaintiff has filed cross-motions for summary judgment as to his non-discrimination claims. Upon consideration of the motions, the responses and replies thereto, the applicable law, the entire record, and for the reasons set forth below the Court GRANTS defendant's motion for summary judgment and DENIES plaintiff's cross-motions for partial summary judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, an African–American male, was employed as a trial attorney for the Plan Benefits Security Division (“PBSD”) of the Office of the Solicitor of Labor from April 1995 through March 29, 2003. Def.'s Statement of Material Facts (“Def.'s SMF”) ¶¶ 1–2. His principal responsibility at PBSD was conducting litigation under the Employees Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) on behalf of the Secretary of Labor. Def.'s SMF ¶ 2. During his tenure at PBSD, one of the cases that Mr. Adair was assigned to was known as the “Employers Mutual” case. Def.'s SMF ¶ 3. Senior trial attorney William Scott was the supervising attorney assigned to the Employers Mutual case. Def.'s SMF ¶ 3.

In 2002, certain issues began to arise between Mr. Adair and Mr. Scott regarding Mr. Adair's work on the Employers Mutual case. Specifically, on April 24, 2002, Mr. Scott sent Mr. Adair a detailed email directing plaintiff to make certain changes to a contempt motion that was to be filed in the case. See AR [Docket Entry 7–10 at 20], Email from Scott to Adair dated April 24, 2002; AR [Docket Entry 7–8 at 5–12], Declaration of G. William Scott dated July 3, 2003 (“2003 Scott Decl.”) ¶ 4. By email dated April 29, 2002, Mr. Adair responded to Mr. Scott stating that he thought the motion was “fine.” AR [Docket Entry 7–8 at 13–14], Ex. A to 2003 Scott Decl., Email from Adair to Scott dated April 29, 2002. Mr. Scott responded by renewing his request for Mr. Adair to make the suggested changes, explaining that without revision it was unclear what actions constituted contempt. AR [Docket Entry 7–8 at 13–14], Ex. A to 2003 Scott Decl., Email from Scott to Adair dated May 1, 2002; 2003 Scott Decl. ¶ 6. Mr. Scott also indicated that the motion should propose a remedy. By email dated May 2, 2002, Mr. Adair responded by stating that “[t]he proof is obvious” and “I would live [sic] the relief to the court.” AR [Docket Entry 7–8 at 13–14], Ex. A to 2003 Scott Decl., Email from Adair to Scott dated May 2, 2002. Mr. Scott then, once again, explained his concerns with plaintiff's approach, and asked Mr. Adair to “finalize the motion papers today and give a copy to me[.]” AR [Docket Entry 7–8 at 13–14], Ex. A to 2003 Scott Decl., Email from Scott to Adair dated May 2, 2002. Mr. Adair failed to revise the motion on May 2, 2002 as requested. 2003 Scott Decl. ¶ 8.²

In June 2002, Mr. Adair submitted a request for extended Annual Leave to Karen Handorf, Deputy Associate Solicitor for PBSD. See AR Tab 4gg(2), Ex. A to Declaration of Karen Handorf, Letter from Handorf to Adair dated July 5, 2002 (“Handorf Letter”). Ms. Handorf denied Mr. Adair's leave request, citing Mr. Adair's heavy workload and unfinished assignments for the Employers Mutual case. See Handorf Letter (“On June 17, 2002, you requested annual leave and this leave was denied because of your heavy workload. Specifically, for the Employers' Mutual Case, you had not sent the contempt letter, had not revised and filed the default motions and had not submitted a discovery plan, as requested by your supervisor on that case.”). Mr. Adair then requested extended medical leave and was told that the request would be considered after medical documentation was provided. See Handorf Letter. On June 28, 2002, Mr. Adair left a prescription paper from his doctor on Ms. Handorf's chair, which states: “Paul Adair was seen and a treatment plan is provided for therapy.” See AR [Docket Entry 7–15 at 8], Prescription from Dr. William D. Lawson, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, Howard University Hospital; see also Handorf Letter. Ms. Handorf then informed Mr. Adair that the prescription paper was “inadequate to justify extended sick leave because it does not state that you will be unable to come to work because of medical treatment nor does it state that you are incapable of performing the duties of your job.” Handorf Letter. Ms. Handorf further advised Mr. Adair that “if your doctor is unwilling to provide a statement that you are not able to perform the duties of your job, we will consider a letter detailing the symptoms of your condition which we will then evaluate to determine whether to grant you extended sick leave.” Handorf Letter. Mr. Adair failed to produce any additional documentation from any health care professionals and returned to work. See AR Tab 4gg at 1, Declaration of Karen Handorf (“Handorf Decl.”) ¶ 3.

On July 17, 2002, Mr. Scott sent an email to Mr. Adair (the “July 17th Email”), which instructed him to complete five assignments related to the Employers Mutual case with a deadline of July 23, 2002. See AR Tab 4cc2, Ex. A to Declaration of G. William Scott dated Nov. 13, 2002 (“2002 Scott Decl.”), Email from Scott to Adair dated July 17, 2002. On July 23, 2002, Mr. Scott sent Mr. Adair an email, which stated: “Paul: I asked you to see me before you left today, but I see you have gone without doing so. Please tell me whether you have completed these tasks; today is the due date. There is a lot to do in this case.” AR [Docket Entry 7–15 at 11], Email from Scott to Adair dated July 23, 2002. After receiving no response, Mr. Scott sent another follow-up email on July 26, 2002, which stated: “Paul: Please tell me whether you have done the assignments listed below. I have not reassigned these tasks. As you know, Peter, Ben and I are doing some of the work that was previously assigned to you, but we can't do it all at this point given our other responsibilities. No one has informed me that you are on sick leave or annual leave. If you are simply refusing to do these tasks, please inform me. If you don't respond to this e-mail, I will have no choice but to assume that you refuse to do this work. Please communicate with me!!” AR [Docket Entry 7–15 at 12], Email from Scott to Adair dated July 26, 2002. By emails dated August 1, 2002, August 2, 2002, and August 7, 2002, Mr. Scott extended the due date for the assignments contained in the July 17th Email to August 19, 2010, and indicated that Mr. Adair no longer needed to complete two of the five assignments. See AR Tab 4cc2, Emails from Scott to Adair dated Aug. 1, 2002, Aug. 2, 2002, and Aug. 7, 2002.

On August 8, 2002, Mr. Adair met with his supervisor Leslie Perlman. They discussed, among other things, the assignments that Mr. Scott had given Mr. Adair on July 17, 2002. On August 9, 2002, Ms. Perlman sent Mr. Adair an email with the assignments contained in the July 17th Email, and stated: “Paul: As I told you yesterday, I am sending you the following assignments for the [Employers Mutual] case even though you told me yesterday that you would not do the assignments and would accept your punishment (short of a trip to the employment office). I urge you to reconsider your position. You must complete the assignments below on the schedule Bill proposed which has a [revised] deadline of August 19.” AR Tab 4cc3, Ex. B to 2002 Scott Decl., Email from Perlman to Adair dated Aug. 9, 2002. By email dated August 28, 2002, Mr. Scott sent an email to Mr. Adair asking if had performed any of the tasks assigned on July 17, 2002. AR Tab 4cc3, Ex. B to 2002 Scott Decl., Email from Scott to Adair dated Aug. 28, 2002.³

On October 17, 2002, Elizabeth Hopkins, a supervisor at PBSD, asked Mr. Adair to attend a mid-year performance review (hereinafter, the “October 17th Meeting”). AR Tab 4ee, Declaration of Elizabeth Hopkins (“Hopkins Decl.”). In attendance at the October 17th Meeting were plaintiff, Ms. Hopkins, Mr. Scott, Ms. Perlman, and another supervisor, Risa Sandler. Def.'s SMF ¶ 11. During the meeting, after Ms. Perlman and Ms. Hopkins praised Mr. Adair for his performance on the cases that they were supervising, Mr. Scott raised his dissatisfaction with Mr. Adair's performance on the Employers Mutual case. AR Tab 4dd, Declaration of Risa Sandler (“Sandler Decl.”) ¶¶ 4, 5. While the details of the meeting are disputed, it is undisputed that at some point during the meeting Mr. Adair stated that he had been disrespected by Mr. Scott, and that he “would rather see everyone dead and the whole...