Said v. Mayo Clinic

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Sameh Mahmoud Mohamed Said, MD, Plaintiff, v. Mayo Clinic and Joseph Albert Dearani, MD, Defendants.

No. 20-cv-927 (ECT/JFD)

United States District Court, D. Minnesota

November 18, 2021

Lawrence P. Schaefer and Makenzie L. Krause, Shaefer Halleen LLC, Minneapolis, MN, for Plaintiff Sameh Mahmoud Mohamed Said, MD.

Kathryn Mrkonich Wilson, Emily A. McNee, and Stephanie D Sarantopoulos, Littler Mendelson, PC, Minneapolis, MN, for Defendants Mayo Clinic and Joseph Albert Dearani, MD.

OPINION AND ORDER

ERIC C. TOSTRUD UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

In a twelve-count Amended Complaint, Dr. Sameh Mahmoud Mohamed Said alleges that Defendant Mayo Clinic violated federal and state laws-including statutes forbidding discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, and religion-when it took adverse actions against him relating to his employment. Dr Said also has asserted four of his twelve claims against his former supervisor, Dr. Joseph Dearani. Mayo Clinic and Dr. Dearani seek summary judgment, and their motion will be granted. Dr. Said has not identified record evidence that reasonably would support a jury verdict in his favor on any of his claims.

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Plaintiff is a surgeon, and Defendants are his former employer and supervisor.

Dr. Said is a cardiovascular surgeon who specializes in pediatric and adult congenital heart surgery. Said Decl. ¶¶ 2, 14-15 [ECF No. 92]. He is an Egyptian national, a practicing Muslim, and he identifies as an African American. Said Dep. 53, 59 [ECF No. 73-1]; Am. Compl. ¶¶ 16, 17 [ECF No. 1-1]. Mayo is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota, that operates “three major sites and health systems that employ over 4, 000 physicians and over 60, 000 allied health staff.” Rihal Decl. ¶ 2 [ECF No. 69]; Am. Compl. ¶ 10. Dr. Dearani is a Mayo-employed cardiovascular surgeon. Dearani Decl. ¶ 2 [ECF No. 66]. Dr. Dearani shares Dr. Said's specialization in pediatric and adult congenital heart surgery. Id.

Dr. Said's Mayo employment began in July 2015.

Dr. Said's relationship with Mayo dates to 2008, when he began a six-year residency in general and cardiovascular surgery. Said Decl. ¶ 2. After finishing his Mayo residency, Dr. Said completed a one-year fellowship in pediatric and congenital cardiac surgery at Stanford University. Id. After his fellowship, Dr. Said hoped to return to Mayo “as a full time Senior Associate Consultant” in Mayo's Department of Cardiovascular Surgery. Id. ¶ 5. Dr. Said felt confident Mayo would hire him because he had performed well as a resident and because “many” doctors in the Department supported his hire. Id. Dr. Dearani-who worked with Dr. Said during his residency-was less supportive. Dr. Dearani told Dr. Said that Mayo preferred to hire someone with at least five years' experience post-residency and fellowship. Id. ¶ 6. Regardless, Mayo hired Dr. Said in July 2015, and as Department chair, Dr. Dearani had ultimate decision-making authority over Dr. Said's hire. Dearani Decl. ¶ 3. Dr. Said's hiring as a Senior Associate Consultant offered the possibility of promotion to a more permanent “Consultant” position after three years. Said Dep. 119; Dearani Decl. ¶ 4; ECF No. 91-16.

Dr. Said's initial job performance received mixed though mostly positive reviews.

Over Dr. Dearani's insistence that he perform only adult surgery, Dr. Said expanded his practice to include pediatric surgery. Said Decl. ¶¶ 14-15; Said Dep. 70. Dr. Dearani advised Dr. Said to temper his workload on “multiple occasions.” Said Dep. 71-72. In one email, Dr. Dearani urged Dr. Said to get his practice “under control” after staff complained he was overbooking surgical procedures and “keeping OR teams into the night for elective cases.” ECF No. 78-5. In a December 2016 “360 review”-a review process that includes obtaining information from an employee's subordinates, peers, and supervisors, ECF No. 76-3-Dr. Said scored well in patient-facing and skills-based competencies, ECF No. 76-17. Dr. Said received “below expectations” marks, however, in “interpersonal and communication” and “professionalism” competencies. Id. Notes from summer and fall 2017 meetings with Dr. Said reflected a similar trend of mostly positive reviews regarding “surgical outcomes” and “productiv[ity] from a clinical standpoint” on the one hand, but recorded growing concerns about overwork and professionalism, on the other. ECF Nos. 78-6, 75-8.

In October 2017, two Mayo anesthesiologists complained of unwelcome advances by Dr. Said.

One anesthesiologist reported that Dr. Said “persistently pursued a personal relationship with her knowing she was in a relationship with someone else” and sent many text messages declaring his love for her. Guidinger Decl. ¶¶ 4-5 [ECF No. 67]; see ECF No. 67-1 at 64-67; Said Dep. 89-94. A second anesthesiologist described receiving “an increasing number” of lunch and dinner invitations and text messages outside of work, including late at night, from Dr. Said. See Guidinger Decl. ¶¶ 4-5; ECF No. 67-1 at 58-67; Said Dep. 89-98. As part of Mayo's investigation of these complaints, Dr. Said met with Human Resources Director Steffany Guidinger on October 20. Guidinger Decl. ¶ 5; ECF No. 67-1 at 53-54; Said Dep. 79-82, 85-86; ECF No. 73-3. The next day, Dr. Said was injured in a car accident, and his injuries required surgery on one of his hands and a temporary absence from work. Said Dep. 101.

In December 2017, Mayo warned Dr. Said regarding his behavior and delayed consideration of his promotion to Consultant.

Dr. Said returned to Mayo on December 4 and met with Dr. Dearani and Renee Jones, the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery's Operations Manager. Said Dep. 118; Jones Decl. ¶ 2 [ECF No. 68]. At the meeting, Dr. Dearani, Jones, and Dr. Said discussed the contents of a document entitled “Coaching Memo.” Said Decl. ¶ 22; see ECF No. 73-4. In the document, Dr. Dearani described three overarching concerns with Dr. Said's performance. First, Dr. Dearani noted a “[l]ack of mutual respect and teamwork” with colleagues. Citing feedback from Dr. Said's 360 review, Dr. Dearani wrote that Dr. Said could be “accusatory of peers, ” “angry, ” and “unilateral and dictating rather than collaborative.” ECF No. 73-4. Second, Dr. Dearani wrote that Dr. Said had crossed “[p]rofessional boundaries” with the anesthesiologists who had filed complaints. Id. Finally, Dr. Dearani noted that Dr. Said's work habits had grown “[u]nsustainable” for his colleagues. Id. A “Remediation and Expectations” section followed those concerns, instructing Dr. Said to, among other things, “[c]ease pursuing female colleagues by sending text messages and/or inquiries for lunch/dinner or personal outings, ” keep interactions with co-workers “professional and work related, ” and “[e]ngage with Dr. Dearani regularly as a mentor.” Id. Last, the Coaching Memo included a “Consequences” section that read:

At this time, due to the nature of these concerns, we will delay in your promotion to Consultant to allow sufficient time for improved 360 evaluations. It is important for you to know that any lack of adherence to these expectations, or further instances of unacceptable behavior will result in lack of promotion to Consultant status at Mayo Clinic.

Id. Dr. Said signed the Coaching Memo. Id. According to Dr. Said, Dr. Dearani verbally promised during the meeting that Mayo would begin his “formal consideration for promotion to Consultant” in three months. Said Decl. ¶ 22.

In May 2018, Dr. Said's consideration for promotion to Consultant was again delayed, this time to late December 2018.

In March 2018, Dr. Said asked Dr. Dearani about the status of his consideration for promotion to Consultant. In response, Dr. Dearani denied having promised to consider Dr. Said's promotion within three months of their December 2017 meeting. Said Dep. 115-20. In May, Dr. Dearani proposed extending Dr. Said's appointment as a Senior Associate Consultant and deferring a decision on his promotion:

I would like to propose an extension of Dr. Sameh Said's SAC appointment with the possibility of promotion for advancement to a permanent staff position in six months. While Dr. Said's clinical outcomes are strong and he has been productive from a research standpoint, as you are aware, he has received coaching related to his interpersonal skills, professional relationships and communication in the workplace. Dr. Said has shown some improvement in this area and I am optimistic that this additional time will better position him to be successful as a Consultant.

ECF No. 78-3. Consistent with Dr. Dearani's proposal, Mayo extended Dr. Said's appointment as Senior Associate Consultant to December 25, 2018. ECF No. 78-4.

Larger concerns prompt Mayo to review the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery.

During the spring and summer of 2018, “higher than normal turnover” and “concerns related to collaboration mutual respect, and professionalism” prompted Mayo to perform a “workplace assessment” within the Department. ECF No. 82 at 3. As part of that assessment, a human resources team interviewed 43 “stakeholders”-including Dr. Said-about interactions between the Department and Intensive Care Unit. Id. In August, Mayo provided Dr. Said and other surgeons in the Department with written responses and criticisms received during the assessment. On August 14, Dr. Said met with Dr. Dearani and Jones to discuss information specific to him. ECF Nos. 76-14, 76-15; see ECF Nos. 76-11, 76-12. Dr. Said's review included concerns regarding unprofessional behavior with staff and overbooking elective cases during “off hours, ” which contributed to staff burnout. ECF No. 82 at 22-23. Information obtained in the assessment also indicated that Dr. Said's pursuit...