Vickers v. Fairfield Medical Center

453 F.3d 757

Christopher VICKERS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. FAIRFIELD MEDICAL CENTER, Steve Anderson, Kory J. Dixon, John Mueller, and "Jane Doe" Dixon, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 04-3776.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: June 8, 2005.

Decided and Filed: July 19, 2006.

ARGUED:

Randi A. Barnabee, Smithbarnabee & Co., LPA, Bedford, Ohio, for Appellant. William R. Case, Thompson Hine, Columbus, Ohio, Lois A. Gruhin, Zashin & Rich, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellees.

ON BRIEF:

Randi A. Barnabee, Smithbarnabee & Co., LPA, Bedford, Ohio, for Appellant. William R. Case, Thompson Hine, Columbus, Ohio, Lois A. Gruhin, Zashin & Rich, Columbus, Ohio, Helena Oroz, Stephen S. Zashin, Zashin & Rich, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellees.

Before: SILER and GIBBONS, Circuit Judges; LAWSON, District Judge.^*

GIBBONS, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which SILER, J., joined.

LAWSON, D.J. (pp. 766-70), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.

OPINION

JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge.

Christopher Vickers brought a claim against Fairfield Medical Center (FMC), three co-workers, and a co-worker's spouse alleging sex discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., conspiracy to violate Vickers' equal protection rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3), failure to prevent the conspiracy in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1986, and twenty-one state law claims. The district court granted defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c), finding that Vickers could not prevail on any of his federal claims as a matter of law. The district court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims. Vickers now appeals.

For the following reasons, we affirm the decision of the district court.

I.

Vickers was employed as a private police officer by Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster, Ohio. Kory Dixon and John Mueller were also police officers at FMC and often worked with Vickers. Steve Anderson was Police Chief of FMC's police department and was Vickers' supervisor.

Vickers' seventy-one page complaint is extremely detailed. It gives a virtually day-by-day account of Vickers' allegations of harassment. According to the complaint, Vickers befriended a male homosexual doctor at FMC and assisted him in an investigation regarding sexual misconduct that had allegedly occurred against the doctor. Once his co-workers found out about the friendship, Vickers contends that Dixon and Mueller "began making sexually based slurs and discriminating remarks and comments about Vickers, alleging that Vickers was `gay' or homosexual, and questioning his masculinity." Vickers asserts that following a vacation in April 2002 to Florida with a male friend, Dixon's and Mueller's harassing comments and behavior increased. Vickers asserts that Anderson witnessed the harassing behavior but took no action to stop it and frequently joined in the harassment. Vickers asserts that he has never discussed his sexuality with any of his co-workers.

Vickers contends that he was subject to daily instances of harassment at the hands of his co-workers from May 2002 through March 2003. The allegations of harassment include impressing the word "FAG" on the second page of Vickers' report forms, frequent derogatory comments regarding Vickers' sexual preferences and activities, frequently calling Vickers a "fag," "gay," and other derogatory names, playing tape-recorded conversations in the office during which Vickers was ridiculed for being homosexual, subjecting Vickers to vulgar gestures, placing irritants and chemicals in Vickers' food and other personal property, using the nickname "Kiss" for Vickers, and making lewd remarks suggesting that Vickers provide them with sexual favors.

Vickers also asserts that on several occasions, he was physically harassed by his co-workers. According to his complaint, on October 20, 2002, Vickers and Mueller were conducting handcuff training. Dixon handcuffed Vickers and then simulated sex with Vickers while Anderson photographed this incident. Vickers downloaded the digital picture and placed it in his mailbox intending to take it home later, but it was removed from his mailbox. Vickers contends that a few days later, Dixon's wife, a nurse at Grant Medical Center, faxed the picture to FMC's Registration Center, where several people saw it. Vickers further contends that the picture was hanging up in a window at FMC on January 15, 2003, where FMC officers, staff and visitors could see it. On other occasions, Vickers' co-workers repeatedly touched his crotch with a tape measure, grabbed Vickers' chest while making derogatory comments, tried to shove a sanitary napkin in Vickers' face, and simulated sex with a stuffed animal and then tried to push the stuffed animal into Vickers' crotch.

Vickers considered reporting the harassment he was experiencing to FMC's Vice-President or President but asserts that Anderson confronted Vickers before he reported the harassment, telling him that reporting the harassment would be futile, as it would not change the work environment. Vickers spoke with Anderson, Dixon, and Mueller several other times about the harassment, but no action appears to have been taken. In April 2003, Vickers retained a lawyer to aid him in dealing with the harassment he was experiencing on the job. Vickers' attorney met with FMC representatives, at which time the representatives stated that they would begin investigating Vickers' complaints immediately. In connection with the investigation, Vickers asserts that Anderson, Dixon and Mueller, among others, were interviewed.

FMC's counsel informed Vickers' attorney at the conclusion of the interview that FMC did not believe that Vickers had a "legally actionable claim" against them. Shortly thereafter, Vickers met with the human resources department at FMC, where he learned that Anderson, Dixon and Mueller had been suspended for staggered periods as a result of FMC's investigation into Vickers' complaints. Vickers was told that human resources would attempt to rearrange Vickers' schedule in order to minimize his contact with Anderson, Mueller, and Dixon. Vickers was also informed during this meeting that the investigation had revealed actionable misconduct by Vickers, but that human resources had elected not to pursue any action against him in light of the harassment Vickers had experienced. Vickers claims that human resources refused to provide specific information regarding Vickers' alleged misconduct despite his request.

Vickers asserts that, contrary to the statements of human resources regarding a schedule shift, he continued to work closely with Anderson, Dixon and Mueller. Vickers contends that Dixon and Mueller were openly hostile toward him during this time period. Despite human resources' instructions to all involved parties to keep Vickers' complaint confidential, word of the situation spread. Vickers met with human resources again and was assured that appropriate action would be taken. A few days later, Anderson informed Vickers that his request to transfer shifts had been denied. Soon thereafter, Anderson informed Vickers that he was required to meet with the human resources department. Vickers was told by a co-worker that the meeting was for the purpose of initiating a personnel action against him "in order to discredit him" if he filed a lawsuit against FMC. Vickers attempted to discern from human resources whether the meeting was for disciplinary purposes. He was told that it was in fact a disciplinary meeting and that he was informed that he was not allowed to have an attorney present at the meeting. Vickers spoke with his attorney and thereafter decided to resign from his position at FMC.

Vickers filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") on June 19, 2003, and the EEOC issued a right to sue letter on July 8, 2003. Vickers filed the instant action against FMC, Anderson, Dixon, Mueller, and "Jane Doe" Dixon (Dixon's wife) on or about September 19, 2003 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The complaint alleged sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation in violation of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., conspiracy to violate Vickers' equal protection rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3), failure to prevent the conspiracy in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1986, and twenty-one state law claims.

All defendants-appellees filed a joint motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) on or about January 21, 2004. On May 5, 2004, the district court granted defendants-appellees' motion on the federal claims pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) and declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Vickers' state law claims. The district court granted the motion based on the fact that Title VII does not protect individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation and that Supreme Court and Sixth Circuit case law do not recognize Vickers' claims of harassment based on being perceived as homosexual as violations of Title VII. Vickers filed a timely notice of appeal.¹

II.

We review the district court's dismissal of a complaint pursuant to Rule 12(c) de novo. Smith v. City of Salem, 378 F.3d 566, 570 (6th Cir.2004). The manner of review under Rule 12(c) is the same as a review under Rule 12(b)(6); we must "construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, accept all of the complaint's factual allegations as true, and determine whether the plaintiff undoubtedly can prove no set of facts in support of the claims that would entitle relief." Grindstaff v. Green, 133 F.3d 416, 421 (6th Cir.1998).

Vickers argues on appeal that the district court erred in finding that he cannot prevail on his Title VII claims as a matter of law....