Stanley v. University of Tex. Medical Branch

425 F.Supp.2d 816

Richard STANLEY Plaintiff, v. UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH, GALVESTON, TEXAS Defendant.

No. CIV.A.G-02-508.

United States District Court, S.D. Texas, Galveston Division.

August 15, 2003.

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Mark E. Roberts, Attorney at Law, Houston, TX, for Plaintiff.

Craig H. Russell, Assistant Atty Gen., Austin, TX, for Defendant.

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND INVITING A MOTION FOR SANCTIONS

KENT, District Judge.

Plaintiff Richard Stanley ("Plaintiff") brings this action against Defendant University of Texas Medical Branch ("UTMB" or "Defendant") alleging that UTMB violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000 et seq., by perpetuating a hostile work environment toward African-American males and by retaliating against him. Now before the Court is Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, and Plaintiffs timely Response thereto. After careful thought and considerable deliberation, the Court concludes that Defendant's Motion must be GRANTED for the reasons articulated below.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff was hired by UTMB as a licensed, registered nurse at the Larry Gist State Jail in May of 1997. At the time he was hired, Plaintiff was the only male nurse at the Larry Gist State Jail. Unfortunately, the Parties' relationship quickly became strained by what UTMB perceived to be inappropriate behavior by Plaintiff. On April 9, 1998, Plaintiff was placed on six months of probation for eight cited instances, most of which were charges related to either insubordination or inappropriate behavior toward female coworkers. Then, on December 3, 1998, Plaintiff was again placed on six months probation for unprofessional behavior.

On November 19, 2001, Plaintiff refused to administer insulin to a known insulin dependent patient, despite the fact that the patient had a "300 + finger stick Glucometer reading," and that his supervisor ordered him to give the patient the shot. Following an investigation, Plaintiff was suspended for three days without pay for refusing to follow his supervisor's order, and for reckless endangerment of the patient's health; additionally, Plaintiff was warned that future infractions would result in "further disciplinary action up to and including termination of your employment." Specifically, Danny Mott informed Plaintiff of the reasons for his suspension by letter, stating:

Per your own admission, your refusal was based not on concerns for the patient's welfare, but rather upon your own desire not to lose credibility with the patient. As a result of your actions to place your credibility before the patient's welfare you placed a patient at potentially grave risk. Your refusal to act is in violation of UTMB Policy, MCHR 3.10, page 3 of 8 # 10 INTENTIONAL FAILURE TO OBEY ANY LEGAL ORDER FROM A PROPER AUTHORITY, # 16 INSUBORDINATION, page 4 of 8, # 3 RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT, and # 12 MISTREATMENT OF OFFENDERS, CLIENTS OR OTHERS. Not only is this a violation of UTMB Policy and Procedures, it is a violation of LVN Rules of Licensure and Practice, to wit: 1) Failure to assess or initiate a nursing intervention (239.11, 27-A) and 2) Insubordination (239.11, 27-J).

Plaintiff does not dispute the actual charges that Danny Mott makes. Rather, Plaintiff responds that he disregarded his supervisor's order because he thought that an hour lapse in between the time medication was ordered and the time medication is administered required a new order from the treating physician.

Finally, on December 21, 2001, Nurse Linda Northen filed a sexual harassment complaint against Richard Stanley. The gravamen of Northen's allegations is accurately illustrated by the following excerpt from her complaint:

At this juncture in time Mr. Stanley initated [sic] a one-sided conversation with me. Several different approaches were used to refer to my sexual orientation such as, "What are you buying for your significent [sic] other for Christmas?" and "What are you buying her?" "Maybe you and she will just have a special time together." I was did not [sic] address any of these inquiries which included other verbage [sic] indicating that my sexual orientation might be with a woman. I told Mr. Stanley to sit down and shut up. He responded by leaning over me while I was sitting at my desk and winked at me repeatedly while grinning widely. During this time his face was positioned very close to mine ....

UTMB conducted an investigation and found that Northen's allegations were meritorious.¹ Based on the results of the investigation, coupled with the November 19, 2001 incident, Danny Mott wrote a letter to Plaintiff on January 16, 2002 informing him that UTMB intended to terminate his employment based on the November 19, 2001 and December 21, 2001 episodes. Additionally, the letter explained that Plaintiff had an opportunity to defend himself at a hearing the following day, at 10:00 a.m., and that a final decision regarding his employment would be made following the hearing.

Plaintiff failed to appear at the hearing and tendered a letter of resignation on January 17, 2002. Plaintiff contends that he called Mott on January 17, 2002 to explain that he was running late for the hearing. In his sworn affidavit, Plaintiff claims that Mott told him that his presence at the hearing was not necessary. Further, Plaintiff disputes Mott's contention that he resigned voluntarily because he alleges that he sent the resignation letter only after Mott requested it.

Following his termination, Plaintiff filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). In his charge, Plaintiff checked the "race" and "sex" boxes under the "Cause of Discrimination Based On" category, but did not check the "retaliation" box. In its entirety, Plaintiff's charge of discrimination states:

1. I was forced to resign (constructive discharge) after more than four years of satisfactory service as an LVN. I am employed by the University of Texas Medical Branch and assigned to the Larry Gist State Jail in Beaumont, Texas. I was falsely accused of sexually harassing a white female. She made a false complaint against me and as a direct result of her complaint, I was discharged and without the benefit of a full investigation. I was the only black male LVN in the unit.

2. During my exit interview, I was asked if I felt strange working in a female dominated field. I feel that because I am a black male the white female was told to set me up so I could get fired. I deny that I sexually harassed the white female.

3. I was discriminated against because of my race and sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as Amended.

The EEOC issued a Right to Sue letter and Plaintiff brought the instant action alleging that he was discriminated against based on his gender and race, and that he was retaliated against. After reviewing the evidence attached to Plaintiff's twenty-page Response, the following is all of the evidence the Court can find that even relates to Plaintiff's claims: (1) Plaintiff's sworn affidavit, paragraph four, which states: "I was the only male assigned to work in the area I was employed. Being the only male employee in this area, I was often called upon to move heavy objects, as well as patients, that required more physical dexterity than most of the female employees could provide."; (2) Plaintiff's sworn affidavit, paragraph thirteen, which states: "There was no other males that work in unit [sic] that I work in, as a Nurse. All of the Nurses were female and most of them were white. On several occasions I observed that new employees with less experience at the facility were allowed preferential shifts. When I commented on this, and then on the fact that no black employees were given the same opportunity, no action was taken to allow black employees the same opportunity."; (3) Plaintiff's sworn affidavit, paragraph fourteen, which states: "On several occasions during this time I filed a formal grievance about the working conditions at the unit and my concern that with inadequate breaks and staffing issues that patients were placed at risk. This grievance was never responded to prior to my termination."²; (4) Plaintiff's sworn affidavit, paragraph fifteen, which states: "I was not treated in the same manner as female employees. I was not given the same or proper time to take restroom brakes [sic]. Often I would be docked lunchtime when I took a restroom brake [sic]."; (5) Plaintiffs sworn affidavit, paragraphs eighteen and nineteen, which state: "During the occurrence I was accused of sexual harassment, I engaged in a conversation regarding a patient/inmate and indicated that he was a homosexual. I did not make this statement in a derogatory manner. Ms. Northen then commented by asking me if I like to be called a `Nigger,' and I responded that I did not equate private relationships equal to degrading comments regarding my race."; (6) Plaintiff's sworn affidavit, paragraph twenty-one, which states: "Ms. Northen's use of the word `Nigger' was consistent with the treatment of Black/African-American workers at the Gist unit medical facility. In addition, the failure to follow up and equally address such serious accusations regarding race is further consistent with the attitude of racial issue [sic] for Black/African-American nurses at this particular unit."; and (7) Brenda Franklin's, an African-American nurse at the Gist State Jail Facility, sworn affidavit, paragraph two, which states: "While employed by the University of Texas Galveston Medical Branch, Gist Unit, I experienced and observed other Black/African-American employees experience unequal treatment compared with white medical employees."

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate if no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); ...