Brahmamdam v. TriHealth, Inc.

Ranga Brahmamdam, M.D., Plaintiff, v. TriHealth, Inc., et al., Defendants.

No. 1:19-cv-152

United States District Court, S.D. Ohio, Western Division

May 16, 2022

Karen L. Litkovitz Magistrate Judge

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT; GRANTING DEFENDANTS'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT; AND GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT/COUNTERCLAIMANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Susan J. Dlott United States District Judge

This employment discrimination action is before the Court on Plaintiff Ranga Brahmamdam's Motion for Summary Judgment Against Defendant/Counterclaimant Margo Alexander (Doc. 107) Defendants TriHealth, Inc.'s and TriHealth G, LLC's (collectively, “TriHealth”) Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 108), and Alexander's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 109). For the reasons that follow Brahmamdam's Motion (Doc. 107) will be GRANTED TriHealth's Motion (Doc. 108) will be GRANTED, and Alexander's Motion (Doc. 109) will be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Facts

This is an employment discrimination action in which Brahmamdam, a physician in a position of authority, had a relationship of a sexual nature with both Alexander, his informal mentee/intern, and Shirisha Pasula, a medical resident. Brahmamdam exchanged thousands of electronic communications with both women, which demonstrate that, although the relationships were consensual, both were tumultuous, inappropriate, and manipulative.

i. Brahmamdam's and Alexander's Relationship

Brahmamdam is a board-certified oncologist/hematologist, and he became a TriHealth employee in 2010 when TriHealth acquired his physician group, Oncology Partners Network. (Doc. 108-2 at PageID 3830; Doc. 120-1 at PageID 3946.) He is of Indian descent and a practicing Hindu. (Doc. 27 at PageID 337; Brahmamdam Decl., Doc. 119 at PageID 3923.) He was born in 1962 and has resided in the United States since 1986. (Brahmamdam Decl., Doc. 119 at PageID 3923; Doc. 108-2 at PageID 3830; Doc. 120-1 at PageID 3946.)

In 2018, Alexander was a 29-year-old Xavier University nursing student. (Doc. 108-2 at Page ID 3831; Doc. 120-1 at PageID 3947.) Pursuant to an agreement between TriHealth and Xavier University, Xavier University nursing students may fulfill their clinical requirements at TriHealth. (Doc. 108-2 at PageID 3831; Doc. 120-1 at PageID 3946.) As a nursing student, Alexander performed clinical rotations at TriHealth's Cancer Institute on the medial oncology unit from January 11 through April 27, 2018. (Doc. 108-2 at PageID 3831; Doc. 120-1 at PageID 3947.)

Alexander and Brahmamdam first met in January 2018 while she was providing patient care with her clinical preceptor at TriHealth on the medical oncology unit. (Doc. 109-1 at PageID 3872; Doc. 122-1 at PageID 3978.) Not long thereafter, Brahmamdam offered to be her mentor and help her obtain a job. (Alexander Dep., Doc. 90 at PagelD 2436-37.) The two developed what Alexander describes as a “quasi-mentorship/life coach/volunteer relationship.” (Doc. 33 at PageID 392.) Throughout the relationship, Brahmamdam and Alexander saw each other frequently and communicated regularly via text message, WhatsApp, and email. They also frequently spent time together in his office or their cars. (Doc 86-8 at PageID 1403; Alexander Dep., Doc. 90 at PageID 2651; Doc. 108-2 at PageID 3833; Doc. 120-1 at PageID 3947.) Brahmamdam instructed Alexander to not tell anyone she was seeing him every day, and on several occasions told her to avoid using TriHealth email to communicate with him. (Doc. 86-1 at PageID 1121; Doc. 86-5 at PageID 1198; Doc. 86-7 at PageID 1303, 1321.) He also told Alexander not to text him when he was with his wife. (Doc. 86-8 at PageID 1374; Alexander Dep., Doc. 90 at PagelD 2620-21.) Brahmamdam's and Alexander's relationship continued after Alexander's clinical rotation ended in April 2018, and she served as an “informal intern” of Brahmamdam's through July 2018. (Doc. 108-2 at PageID 3832; Doc. 120-1 at PageID 3947.) Brahmamdam's mentorship of Alexander, as well as the informal intern arrangement, was outside the scope of Alexander's formal clinical rotation. (Doc. 108-2 at PageID 3832; Doc. 109-1 at PageID 3872; Doc. 120-1 at PageID 3947; Doc. 122-1 at PageID 3978.)

Throughout the course of their relationship, Alexander assisted Brahmamdam with various projects for his oncology group, including making PowerPoint presentations. (Alexander Dep., Doc. 90 at PageID 2600-01; Doc. 109-1 at PageID 3873; Doc. 122-1 at PageID 3978.) At times, Brahmamdam also allowed Alexander to accompany him when he visited his patients on the oncology unit. (Alexander Dep., Doc. 90 at PageID 2605.)

Brahmamdam and Alexander also shared personal information with one another, including Alexander revealing to Brahmamdam that she suffered from situational depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (“ADHD”). (Doc. 108-2 at PageID 3832; Doc. 120-1 at PageID 3947; Doc. 90-1 at PageID 2703-04.) Alexander also revealed that she took medication to control her ADHD and considered herself addicted to the medication. (Doc. 90-1 at PageID 2703; Doc. 90-6 at PageID 2814.) Brahmamdam testified that during their mentorship, he often noticed differences in Alexander's mood, and she frequently experienced ups and downs. (Doc. 88 at PageID 2256.) He offered to serve as Alexander's “life coach” by “guid[ing]” her in “improving self-control, ” “identifying triggers and introduction to cognitive therapy, ” “emotional intelligence, ” “key medical concepts, ” and “help planning next level.” (Doc. 86-4 at PagelD 1168-70.)

In this “life-coach” role, Brahmamdam tried to help Alexander manage her ADHD and suggested different medications she should try. (Alexander Dep., Doc. 90 at PageID 2590.) Although Brahmamdam is not a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist, he diagnosed Alexander as suffering from a series of psychological disorders and recommended different courses of treatment. (Brahmamdam Dep., Doc. 86 at PageID 828; Doc. 86-1 at PageID 1124; Brahmamdam Dep., Doc. 88 at PageID 2241, 2245-46; Doc. 88-1 at PageID 2365.) According to Alexander, Brahmamdam gave her medications to control her depression and ADHD, and wrote her a prescription for a medication and eye drops. (Alexander Dep., Doc. 90 at PageID 2648-49.) Brahmamdam refutes this and testified that he did not give Alexander any medications, and that Alexander may have obtained the medications by taking them from a bag he had in his office. (Brahmamdam Dep., Doc. 86 at PageID 830-31, 874, 878-79.) He does not, however, dispute he wrote her a prescription for a medication and eye drops. (Id. at PageID 891-92, 922.)

Alexander's and Brahmamdam's relationship was also of a sexual nature, although both testified that they often joked with one another. At times, and usually late in the evening, Brahmamdam and Alexander exchanged text messages regarding sexual activities. For example, Brahmamdam asked Alexander when she last had sex and when she last performed oral sex, and on several occasions asked her to tell him sexual stories. (Doc. 86-6 at PageID 1293; Doc. 86-8 at PagelD 1392, 1412, 1442, 1453, 1455, 1472-73, 1478; Alexander Dep., Doc. 90 at PagelD 2592.) When asked why these text conversations occurred, Alexander testified that “Brahmamdam often asked about sexual experiences and he explained to me that he had an arranged marriage and that he had not had many experiences and that he was jealous of me having had experiences.” (Alexander Dep., Doc. 90 at PageID 2413.) Brahmamdam's and Alexander's conversations also contained frequent references to “DD” or “ding dong.” According to Brahmamdam, ding dong is a form of “spiritual relaxation and constitute[s] conversation of exchanging [sic] the affection in a relaxing way, rather than in a tight professional stressful environment.” (Brahmamdam Dep., Doc. 86 at PageID 941.) Alexander testified that, depending on the person, ding dong referred to sex, sexual activity, or intimacy and affection. (Alexander Dep., Doc. 90 at PageID 2529-30.) Alexander also testified that she and Brahmamdam had kissed once and he had touched her breasts. (Id. at PageID 2525.) Brahmamdam denied that this occurred. (Brahmamdam Dep., Doc. 86 at PageID 1059; Doc. 88 at PageID 2306.) In one series of text messages on May 2 and 3, 2018, Brahmamdam asked Alexander “[h]ow did u control your self, ” appearing to reference a sexual interaction they had in one of their cars. (Doc. 86-8 at PageID 1366.)

ii. Brahmamdam's Relationship with Shirisha Pasula

Brahmamdam met Shirisha Pasula in 2014 when she was a medical student. (Doc. 108-2 at PageID 3837; Doc. 120-1 at PageID 3951.) Brahmamdam testified that he and Pasula had a very close relationship and he viewed her as his sister or daughter. (Brahmamdam Dep., Doc. 86 at PageID 864.) In 2016, he helped Pasula secure a residency at TriHealth by introducing her to several TriHealth doctors and writing her a letter of recommendation. (Doc. 108-2 at PageID 3837; Doc. 120-1 at PageID 3951.)

During the course of their relationship, Brahmamdam and Pasula regularly communicated via email and TriHealth's internal messaging application, and their communications demonstrate their relationship was, at times, tumultuous, as they often got into arguments. (Brahmamdam Dep., Doc. 87 at PagelD 1659-60; Doc. 87-4 at PagelD 2043-45, 2089, 2103.) Similar to his relationship with Alexander, Brahmamdam's and Pasula's electronic communications were at times of a sexual nature. (Doc. 87-4 at PageID 2094, 2102, 2140; Doc 108-2 at PageID 3839; Doc. 120-1 at PageID 3952.) Alexander testified that on one occasion, she walked into Brahmamdam's office and observed him with his head in Pasula's breasts. (Alexander Dep., Doc....