Jones v. Las Vegas Valley Water District et al
Filing
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ORDER that Defendants Motion for Summary Judgment 36 is GRANTED. Plaintiffs Second Motion for Summary Judgment 46 is DENIED. Signed by Judge Kent J. Dawson on 6/28/12. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - ECS)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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TERRIS R. JONES SR.,
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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Case No. 2:11-CV-00435-KJD-PAL
LAS VEGAS VALLEY WATER
DISTRICT, et al.,
ORDER
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Defendants.
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Presently before the Court is the Motion for Summary Judgment of Defendants Las Vegas
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Valley Water District, Pat Mulroy, Patricia Maxwell, Alan Schmidt, Juan Sanjurjo, Richard Tritley,
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and Richard Fox (collectively “Defendants”) (#36). Plaintiff Terris Jones filed a response in
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opposition (#47) to which Defendants replied (#48).
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Additionally, before the Court is Plaintiff’s Second Motion for Partial Summary Judgment
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(#46). Defendants filed a response in opposition (#49) to which Plaintiff replied (#50).
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I. Background and Procedural History
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Plaintiff is currently a security officer at Las Vegas Valley Water District (“LVVWD”),
where he has been employed since February 2007. On August 6, 2010 Plaintiff filed a Charge of
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Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). This charge
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alleged race discrimination and retaliation arising out of a prior charge filed by Plaintiff on April 9,
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2010. On March 16, 2011 Plaintiff received a right to sue letter from the U.S. Department of Justice.
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On March 24, 2011 Plaintiff filed his Complaint alleging discrimination and retaliation by LVVWD
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and his co-workers.
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A. First Incident
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The first incident arose out of a series of emails that were exchanged between May and July
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of 2010. On May 9, 2010 Plaintiff sent an email to his supervisor, Alan Schmidt (“Schmidt”), and
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the Human Resource Director, Patricia Maxwell (“Maxwell”), informing them that he had “been
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feeling fearful for [his] life here at this job, because of what has happened to [him] by all the people
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that has had anything to do with, what has happened to [him]. With respect to the discriminative acts
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that were perpetrated against [him] by persons at this job.” (sic.)
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On May 10, 2010 Maxwell sent an email to Plaintiff telling him to contact her immediately if
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he had been subject to threats or threatening behavior. Plaintiff did not respond to the email. At his
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deposition, Plaintiff stated that he did not respond because he had not been threatened.
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On May 11, 2010 Plaintiff sent the same email claiming that he had “been feeling fearful for
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[his] life” to the General Manager of LVVWD, Pat Mulroy (“Mulroy”). Mulroy did not respond to
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Plaintiff’s email. At his deposition Plaintiff admitted that even if Mulroy had contacted him, he
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would not have responded because he had not been threatened.
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On July 13, 2010 Plaintiff wrote a letter to Maxwell stating he “emailed [H.R.] concerning
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feeling fearful and working in a ‘hostile work environment and/or atmosphere’” and cited the above
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emails. Plaintiff then informed Maxwell he would be taking July 14th-16th off to “bring his
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emotional distress under control.” LVVWD permitted Plaintiff to take the requested days off, and
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Maxwell responded to Plaintiff’s letter informing him “that the investigation [H.R.] completed
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regarding [his] original complaint did not indicate any intention that would manifest itself in a
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physical action/attack.” Maxwell reiterated that LVVWD does not tolerate threats and invited
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Plaintiff to contact her if Plaintiff received “any threats or [was] the recipient of any threatening
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behavior.”
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On July 22, 2010 Plaintiff wrote a letter to Maxwell about the alleged threats indicating that
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LVVWD was negligent because it “tolerated the egregious behavior.” Plaintiff stated, “[n]o one can
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predetermine anyone’s actions at any time, if so, why didn’t [H.R.] predetermine the perpetrators
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egregious behavior in [Plaintiff’s] first complaint so [Plaintiff] would not have had to undergo the
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emotional distress [he has] suffered.” However, Plaintiff admitted is his deposition that there was no
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threatening behavior, and that his concern was not a threat on his life. Instead, Plaintiff’s issue was
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that the persons against whom he made prior complaints were still in place.
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On July 28, 2010 Plaintiff sent emails to Schmidt and Maxwell complaining that on July 24,
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2010 co-worker Richard Fox (“Fox”), treated him disrespectfully. Plaintiff now contends that at that
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time, he made LVVWD aware that Fox called him the “N-word.” However, at his deposition
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Plaintiff admits that he did not actually make that claim in the email. Schmidt tried to discuss the
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email with Plaintiff and asked him what was said. Plaintiff would not answer and told Schmidt that if
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he placed the question in writing he would respond. At Plaintiff’s request, Maxwell emailed Plaintiff
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asking him to describe the interaction with Fox. Plaintiff did not respond to Maxwell’s email and
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filed his complaint with the EEOC.
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B. Second Incident
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On January 22, 2011, five months after Plaintiff filed his complaint based on the first incident
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with the EEOC, Plaintiff emailed Schmidt about a shift assignment issue. Plaintiff believed he
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should be working in the security yard, while officers Juan Sanjurjo (“Sanjurjo”) and Fox believed
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that he should be in the security center. Plaintiff ended his email to Schmidt with “[t]his further
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appears to be retaliation.”
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That same day Schmidt responded to Plaintiff’s email explaining that because of the new
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rotation schedule there was confusion as to who would be on what assignment. Schmidt told Plaintiff
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that he should have been working in the field and informed Plaintiff he would email Sanjurjo and
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Fox to clear up the confusion. Further, Schmidt stated, “I am unclear on the exact nature of your
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retaliation claim. If anything was said or done to make you feel this then please document this or
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speak to Pat Maxwell in H.R.” On January 24, 2011 Maxwell also responded to Plaintiff’s email
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complaining about retaliation and requested that Plaintiff speak to her if he disagreed that the
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incident was other than a mix-up. Plaintiff did not respond.
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II. Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment
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A. Legal Standard for Summary Judgment
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Summary judgment is proper when a “movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to
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any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). “A
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party asserting that a fact cannot be or is genuinely disputed must support the assertion by,” citing to
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documents, electronically stored information, affidavits, or other materials. Fed. R. Civ. P.
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56(c)(1)(A). The moving party bears the initial burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue of
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material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 447 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). The burden then shifts to the
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nonmoving party to set forth specific facts demonstrating a genuine factual issue for trial. Matsushita
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Elec. Indis. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986).
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All justifiable inferences must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.
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Id. However, the nonmoving party may not rest upon mere allegations or denials of his or her
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pleadings, but he or she must produce specific facts, by affidavit or other evidentiary materials
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provided by Rule 56(e), showing there is a genuine issue for trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.,
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477 U.S. 242, 256 (1986). Conclusory or speculative testimony is insufficient to raise a genuine issue
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of fact to defeat summary judgment. Anheuser-Busch, Inc. v. Natural Beverage Distribs., 69 F. 3d
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337, 345 (9th Cir. 1995). “[U]ncorroborated and self-serving testimony,” without more, will not
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create a “genuine issue” of material fact precluding summary judgment. Villiarimo v. Aloha Island
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Air, Inc., 281 F. 3d 1054, 1061 (9th Cir. 2002).
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Plaintiff is proceeding pro se. Pro se litigants are not held to the same standard as admitted or
bar licensed attorneys. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520-21 (1972). Pleadings by pro se litigants,
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regardless of deficiencies, should only be judged by function. Id. Although the Court must construe
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the pleadings liberally, “[p]ro se litigants must follow the same rules of procedure that govern other
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litigants.” King v. Atiyeh, 814 F.2d 565, 567 (9th Cir. 1987); Jacobsen v. Filler, 790 F.2d 1362,
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1364 (9th Cir. 1986) (“[P]ro se litigants in the ordinary civil case should not be treated more
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favorably than parties with attorneys of record.”).
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B. Title VII Claims
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Title VII states, “[i]t shall be unlawful employment practice for an employer (1) to fail or
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refuse to hire or to discharge any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or
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privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race… or (2) to limit, segregate, or classify
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his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any
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individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee,
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because of such individuals race…” 42 U.S.C. § 2000E(2)(a)(1)-(2). For Title VII purposes,
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employer is defined as a “person engaged in an industry affecting commerce who has fifteen or more
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employees…” Id. at § 2000E(b). To seek relief under Title VII a plaintiff must exhaust his
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administrative remedies by filing a Charge with the EEOC or corresponding state agency before
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filing suit. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(5)(b).
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1. Claims Against Individuals
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Title VII claims can only be asserted against employers, not individual employees. Miller v.
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Maxwell’s Int’l Inc., 991 F.2d 583, 587-88 (9th Cir. 1993). Even if Plaintiff seeks relief based on a
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state tort law, he cannot plead around Title VII’s ban on individual liability. See Christian v. Nevada
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Public Works Board, 2009 WL 1407990 (D. Nev. 2009). Here, Plaintiff raises claims against
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individual LVVWD employees in each cause of action. It is undisputed that Plaintiff’s causes of
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action allege a retaliatory or discriminatory act under Title VII. Accordingly, summary judgment is
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granted in favor of the individual employees.
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2. Race Discrimination Claim
To claim employment discrimination under Title VII a plaintiff has the burden of showing:
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(1) membership in a protected group; (2) qualification for the job in question; (3) an adverse
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employment action; and (4) circumstances supporting an inference of discrimination. McDonnell
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Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 US 792, 37 L Ed 2d 668, 93 Ct 1817 (1973).
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For Title VII purposes, only non-trivial employment actions that deter reasonable employees
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from complaining about Title VII violations constitute adverse employment actions. Brooks v. City of
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San Mateo, 229 F. 3d 917, 928 (9th Cir. 2000). These types of actions include termination,
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dissemination of negative employment reference, issuance of a negative performance review or a
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refusal to consider an employee for promotion. Id. An action other than a termination or demotion
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requires some kind of meaningful change in work assignment. See Lyons v. England, 307 F.3d 1092,
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1118 (9th Cir. 2002). Additionally, an employer’s action must be “final or lasting” to be considered
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an adverse employment action. Id. at 929-930.
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The parties do not dispute that Plaintiff is a member of a protected group and is qualified for
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the job. However, Defendants argue that Plaintiff has not suffered an adverse employment action.
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Plaintiff provides no evidence that he lost his position, was demoted, failed to receive a due
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promotion, had his rate of pay changed, or had any of his benefits of employment at LVVWD
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altered. Finally, the only circumstance that could possibly support an inference of discrimination is
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Plaintiff’s allegation that Fox treated him disrespectfully and used the “N-word.” However, since
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Fox is a co-worker and not a supervisor, Fox’s actions are not imputed to the employer. See Miller,
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991 F.2d at 587-88. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s race discrimination claim fails to survive summary
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judgment.
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3. Racial Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Claim
To establish an actionable claim for hostile work environment a plaintiff must prove: “(1) that
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he or she was subjected to verbal or physical conduct of a harassing nature, (2) that the conduct was
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unwelcome, and (3) that the conduct was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of
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[Plaintiff’s] employment and create an abusive working environment.” Pavon v. Swift Transp. Co.
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Inc., 192 F.3d 902, 908 (9th Cir. 1999) (citing Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57,
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67, 106 S. Ct. 2399, 91 L.Ed.2d 49 (1986)). Courts have held that the conduct must involve
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“discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, [and/or] insult.” Id. An employer will be liable for harassment
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by a co-worker if the employer does not exercise reasonable care to prevent the harassing behavior.
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See Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775, 807-8 (1998)
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Plaintiff wrote to Maxwell that he “emailed [H.R.] concerning feeling fearful and working in
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a ‘hostile work environment and/or atmosphere.’” However, Plaintiff refused to provide any details
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or work with LVVWD when it attempted to resolve the issues Plaintiff raised in his complaints.
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Plaintiff also alleges Fox directed the N-word towards him once. However, Plaintiff did not report
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this conduct at the time it is alleged to have occurred and admits in his deposition that“[he] heard
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[Fox] specifically say it, but [he did not know] if [Fox] was talking to [him] or not.” Fox is not a
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supervisor and there is no evidence that anyone at LVVWD was aware of the alleged use of the
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word. Finally, the allegations are not sufficiently severe or pervasive as to alter the terms and
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conditions of employment and create an abusive working environment. At most, the allegations
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concern stray remarks, which are not actionable. See Price Water House v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228,
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551 (1989). Accordingly, Defendants are entitled to summary judgment on the hostile work
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environment claim.
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4. Claim for Retaliation
To establish a claim for retaliation a plaintiff must show that “(1) he engaged in a protected
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activity; (2) his employer subjected him to an adverse employment action; and (3) a causal link exists
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between the protected activity and the adverse action.” Ray v. Henderson, 217 F. 3d 1234, 1240 (9th
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Cir. 2000).
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i.
First Incident
It is undisputed that Plaintiff engaged in a protected activity by making a Charge of
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Discrimination to the EEOC. However, as discussed supra, Plaintiff has not been subject to an
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adverse employment action after he filed the EEOC Charge. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s retaliation claim
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based on the first incident cannot survive summary judgment.
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ii.
Second Incident
Plaintiff alleges that five months after filing the EEOC Charge, Fox and Sanjurjo
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discriminated and retaliated against him by placing him in the security center for a shift instead of the
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field. Plaintiff has provided no evidence that this was anything more than a mistake caused by
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confusion and admitted in his deposition that the situation was resolved to his satisfaction.
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Further, when asserting claims that do not appear in the EEOC Charge the plaintiff must
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demonstrate that the new claims are like or reasonably related to the allegations of those in the EEOC
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Charge. Green v. Los Angeles County Superintendent of Sch., 883 F.2d 1472, 1475-76 (9th Cir.
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1989). If the allegations are not like or reasonably related the court should not consider them. Id. The
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second incident took place five months after the EEOC Charge and Plaintiff provides no evidence
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demonstrating a relationship between the schedule mix-up and the allegations of the EEOC Charge,
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other than Plaintiff’s characterization of the mix-up as “retaliation.”
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Even if the Court were to find that the charge is related to the EEOC Charge, Plaintiff has not
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demonstrated an adverse employment action. Maxwell responded to Plaintiff’s email that stated
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“[t]his further appears to be retaliation,” asking for clarification. Plaintiff did not respond. In his
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deposition, Plaintiff indicated that Schmidt’s response was adequate. Accordingly, Defendants are
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entitled to summary judgment on the retaliation claim.
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III. Plaintiff’s Second Motion for Partial Summary Judgment
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Plaintiff previously moved for summary judgment. The Court denied the motion (#44).
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Plaintiff has again moved for summary judgment (#46). Like his previous motion, this motion fails
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to comply with even the most generous readings of Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 and Local Rules 7-2(a) and 56-
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1. Plaintiff’s motion lacks a statement of facts, supporting points and authorities, and other
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information that would supply a basis for granting summary judgment as required by the federal and
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local rules. See Id. In his reply (#50) in support of his motion, Plaintiff attempts to redress these
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defects. However, the reply contains only conclusory assertions and lacks authority, affidavits, and
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documentary evidence showing that he is entitled to summary judgment. Further, Plaintiff’s
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assertion that the Court made an untrue statement in its Order (#44) denying Plaintiff’s pervious
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motion for summary judgment is manifestly false. Plaintiff’s Motion is defective in both form and
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substance. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is denied.
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IV. Conclusion
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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment
(#36) is GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Second Motion for Summary Judgment (#46)
is DENIED.
DATED this 28th day of June 2012.
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_____________________________
Kent J. Dawson
United States District Judge
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